Dark Waters
by Lavantis
Summary: (~FINISHED~) When chaos erupts at the Garden, Zell is sent out into the unforgiving sea in search of help. Instead, a careless mistake results in an unexpected meeting with an old foe, setting off a whirlwind of events....
1. Prologue

# Prologue

The small boat, almost as if it were a cradle, rocked its passengers back and forth, soothing him into a peaceful sleep.In truth, the young man could have slept through a hurricane.Nothing was going to keep his eyes from closing.The reason for this was that the other day, he had been disturbed in the middle of the night by a telephone call.It was made by his boss, Headmaster Cid.

Apparently, the recently rebuilt Trabia Garden was having a crisis and needed SeeD members to assist them in stopping the chaos.Cid had explained how hundreds of the residents at Trabia were infected with a very serious, not to mention contagious, disease.Thus, Trabia Garden has since been completely locked down, allowing no one to either enter or leave without special authorization.

In the meantime, doctors everywhere are working around the clock in order to find a cure.These men and women are mixing, combining, and using up their entire supplies of herbs and potions.This is where SeeD comes in.The doctors have asked that they send out some of their employees with the instructions to search for herbs and other ingredients used in potion making.

Zell was among those who had been selected for the job.He was assigned to look for the Phlemnesium Herb on Kempi Island, but it was a twelve hour trip from Balamb with the crappy little rowboat issued to him by SeeD.(By the time Zell had dragged himself from the comforts of his snug little bed and reported to Headmaster Cid at the docks, this was the only boat, if you could call it that, available for use.)Zell was just four hours away from Kempi Island when he stopped in exhaustion for a rest.


	2. Lost at Sea

Chapter 1: Lost At Sea

Seifer crouched down over the motor.Everything seemed to be in order, all the wires were connected and nothing was out of place.He frowned dumbfounded as to what the problem was.

"Oh, THAT'S what I forgot to do!" exclaimed Raijin, shaking the boat as he leaped to his feet with an epiphany.

"You forgot to do something?" sneered Seifer.He was having a foreboding feeling about what was wrong with the boat's motor.

"Yeah," whispered Raijin, " Remember when you asked me to make sure that I fill up the motor of our boat with gas?"

Seifer's face dropped as he scowled and cursed under his breath.Slowly, he got to his feet with his fists clenched tightly in anger.Seifer took a step toward his companion and without warning, swung a punch, hitting Raijin square in the stomach.Raijin lost his balance and fell backwards.He plunged, head first, into the dark blue water.

"Idiot!" yelled Seifer."Now what are we going to do?We're stuck in the middle of NOWHERE!"

Seifer shook his head, kicking himself for not canceling his little escapade after Fuujin was sent to Trabia for some reason he was too uninterested about to listen to.He should have known that a trip without Fuujin was going to be trouble, especially if Raijin was going to be his only company.

"Umm…" mumbled Raijin, who still was in the water and too afraid of Seifer's wrath to say anything more.

"What now?" asked Seifer in a very annoyed manner.

"T,There's a…" Raijin shivered from the cold, "a b,boat."

Seifer froze.He quickly turned his gaze towards the horizon.Sure enough, there was a small rowboat drifting towards them.A mound of crap that seemed to consist of an overly stuffed bag, jacket, and some technical equipment rested messily in the boat.Seifer cupped his hands over his eyes and peered out at the mysterious raft, scanning for an owner.

"It looks as if there's a bag in it," said Raijin, "but I don't see any people.Maybe it's deserted.

Seifer turned his head towards his companion in disgust.He never understood why people always stated the obvious.Seifer sighed and looked back at the boat.They needed to think of a way to get it, even though it WAS a rowboat and they would have to paddle all the way home.Glancing around, Seifer's gaze fixed itself on the fishing poles.

"Get the hell out of the god damn water and help me," commanded Seifer.

Raijin jolted out of the water, swaying their broken motorboat to and fro as he climbed in.He shook his wet body happily as if he was a big dog.He was ready for action.

"Here," Seifer picked up the fishing poles and shoved one of them into Raijin's face.He had a huge headache and concluded that no one could be alone with a complete moron for over five hours and not feel sick.Seifer just wanted to get on that crappy rowboat and paddle like crazy until they reached home.He really DID regret that Fuujin hadn't been able to come along.

"Alright," Seifer said in a determined, but also weary voice, "let's get started."

With that, Raijin and Seifer cast out their fishing lines.Unfortunately, they both missed the little boat.After reeling in their lines, they tried again with no such luck.Seifer sighed.This was goingto take a while, he thought, and it did. 

Casting and reeling, casting and reeling.Seifer was becoming consumed with anger and frustration.He looked over at Raijin and saw that his companion was smiling………………and singing?

"I love the fishes 'cause they're so DELICIOUS, gotta go fishin', gotta go fishin'.We could eat 'em everyday and my mom says that's okay…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Seifer interrupted Raijin's goldfish song.

"Sorry," Raijin said, the dopey smile that had just a minute ago consumed his face was gone.

Seifer scowled and threw his fishing pole down.Shaking his head, he sat down and lit a cigarette.He took a deep breath, sighed, and leaned his head on his hands.

"Please, god let this hell end," muttered Seifer, "oh, please, please…"

"WOOP-DEE-DO-DA-DAY!I got it, Seifer, I did it!"Raijin jumped up and down, practically capsizing their broken motorboat.

"Sit the hell down you frickin'…" and Seifer continued to call Raijin every single swear that had ever reached his ears, "you're gonna tip us, you moron."

Seifer riped the fishing pole out of Raijin's hands and began reeling in the boat.He couldn't afford the risk that Raijin would somehow screw this up and then they'd be back to casting and reeling.This was a notion that made Seifer sick to even imagine.He had one thing on his mind and one thing only: getting OFF this frickin' boat and into a bar.

Faster and faster he reeled, as beads of sweat dripped down his face.The sun beat upon them with great intensity and Seifer was unable to shield his eyes from the light because of the need for both his hands to remain on the fishing pole.He squinted at the rowboat as it got closer and closer with each passing second.

"Come on, come on," Seifer chanted."Hurry the hell up!"

Raijin was kneeling by the side of their motorboat.He hung his arms over the side, getting ready to grab the small rowboat as soon as it came within arm's reach.Seifer's eyes widened as Raijin stretched out his arm and got hold of the bow of the crappy little rowboat, which would be Seifer's savior.

"Yeah baby!" Raijin shouted joyfully, smiling ear to ear as he held the rowboat's bow.

Seifer could not stop the wry smile that appeared on his face.He sat down as relief overcame him and calmness settled upon his soul.

"Well…." Seifer pondered what they should do with all the shit piled into the little rowboat.There wasn't anyone to claim it and he was too tired to go through it all.

"Hell, all that shit looks like a god damn frickin' mountain!" Seifer said, voicing his thoughts.

"Do you want me to just capsize the whole boat and dump it all out?"Raijin asked.

"Sure, that's the most intelligent thing you've said all day!" Seifer answered.

Raijin, beaming with pride, grabbed a good hold on the rowboat and heaved it over.

"Ahh, cold, cold, cold!" 

As the yelling and screaming reached Seifer and Raijin's ears, they realized that the boat HAD NOT been deserted after all.Seifer drew his gunblade as a head popped out of the water.

"F,f,fr-ee-zz-innn-gggg!" Zell shivered as he emerged at the surface. He flung his head back, whipping his hair out of his eyes.Raijin covered his eyes as water flew through the air towards him.

"YOU!" Seifer yelled, pointing his gunblade at Zell.

"Me?" Zell asked innocently, "How about YOU?Why did YOU tip me? . . .Oh, Crap!"

Zell realized that they had capsized the whole boat which meant that his radio and SeeD equipment were 'swimming with the fisheys'.He took a deep breath and dove down into the water.Deeper and deeper he went until he was out of breath.Zell jetted upward to the surface and gasped for air as he appeared.He sighed and tried to catch his breath.As Zell readied himself for another 'go' at the rescue of his supplies, Seifer grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up into the broken motorboat.

Tossing Zell down on the floor of the boat, Seifer commanded, "Listen here Chickenwuss." 

And that was as far as Seifer got because as soon as the words 'chickenwuss' left his lips, Zell was on his feet, arms swinging and punches flying.

__________________________________________________________________________________________


	3. Bearer of Bad News

# Chapter 2: Bearer Of Bad News

The wind howled as dark clouds settled over the small town of Balamb. As suddenly as the clouds had appeared, raindrops began to pelt down from the sky and the air grew heavy. A man wearing a long overcoat with a dark gray hat pulled his collar up and snuggled his face into it in order to maintain warm and protected from the newly hatched storm. He rushed across Mayhill Street and jogged along the sidewalk, stopping for a moment at every door to peer at what the house number was. 

"This is seventy-seven," the man said, not talking to anyone in particular but merely stating it out loud to himself. 

As soon as the words had left his lips, the man felt embarrassed. True, he was an old man, but still he had never expected to be talking to himself. He thought of this action as a kind of admission of his age. He looked around to see if anyone had over heard his ramblings, but to his astonishment, the rain was pouring down so hard such a fast speed that he could barely see two feet in front of himself. He shrugged off his uncertainties about himself and continued on with his task. The gentleman was soaked to the bone by the time he had reached house number eighty-five, although it was only a few houses away from seventy-seven, where he had been only a moderately wet from the storm. He walked to the door of his destination and came as close to it as he possibly could in order to get the complete use out of the small overhang. He took off his sopping wet hat and pounded at the large wooden door. The man waited a minute or two, but no one answered. He sighed and raised his hand up, ready to pound on it again when the door was abruptly pulled open.

"Oh, hello Cid," Squall said in a surprised tone as he opened the door to his new home. "You must be soaking wet!"

Squall gestured for Cid to enter the little house, shutting the door tightly behind them.

Squall promptly took his unexpected guest's hat along with his coat. Then, Cid was led down a narrow hallway and into a cozy living room. Squall seated himself on the couch and motioned for his visitor to do the same.

"So, what brings you here? Trouble at Balamb Garden? Natural disasters?" Squall smiled. "Or is the end of the world coming?"

"Very funny," Cid mumbled. This was no time for jokes or follies. Not a minute more could be wasted on small talk, although he was very glad that Squall was in such a pleasant mood.

"Now," Cid took on a more serious tone to his voice, "I know that you have taken a leave of absence . . . ."

"Exactly." Squall interrupted cheerfully, "So what terrible thing are you here to inform me about?"

Squall could not keep the smile off his face. He was in too good a mood. After all, he had taken off from his position as Headmaster at Balamb Garden (leaving Cid in charge) because of a broken leg. This was practically healed, but he wasn't running to go back to work just yet. He wanted to spend a little more time with his wife, Rinoa. They had just been married last year and his injury provided the perfect excuse for him to stay home and be with her more.

Cid cleared his throat and stared seriously into Squall's eyes. Squall got the message and sat up straight to show that Cid had his full attention.

"As I was saying," Cid began, "you know about the disease that has plagued Trabia Garden, right?"

Squall simply nodded, not trusting his voice to be able to keep up the act of seriousness. He was barely able to stop himself from bursting out with uncontrollable laughter as it was, with his mouth CLOSED!

"Well, I had requested that Fuujin go to Trabia to help those doctors get organized," Cid stopped and smiled to himself. 

Cid knew that Fuujin would have everyone so nervous and scared, they would hardly stop working with her around.

"And I sent out a hand full of SeeDs to get the ingredients," Cid hesitated, "including Zell . . . ."

Squall flinched as the smile disappeared from his face. What did Zell have to do with this? His heart sank and his good mood diminished into nothing as the possibilities of all the horrible things that might have happened to his friend flashed before his eyes.

Cid, giving Squall a little time to prepare for the bad news about his best friend Zell, waited patiently until Squall raised his pale worry-stricken face to his own before continuing with the dilemma.

"Zell," Cid took a deep breath, "was sent to Kempi Island with the assignment to bring back a supply of the Phlemnesium Herb.He had reported in late, as usual, and he was issued a rowboat because it was the only vehicle in working condition that he would be able to use to get to a island."

"Kempi Island?" Squall questioned. "Isn't that more than ten hours from Balamb by boat?"

Cid nodded his head.

"Around seven hours after Zell's departure, a doctor named Wesley Stone came up with a very promising mixture. One of its main ingredients is the herb that Zell went in search of and the lab has barely any of it left. They can't really see if the medicine has any major drawbacks yet and can't spare any of their reserves for testing. We tried to contact Zell via radio in order to ask him to locate the Plemnesium Herb on Kempi Island and send us its where-a bouts. There was no answer. An hour and a half later, our computer said that his radio was unreachable. Our communication with him was cut off."

Cid stopped and looked up at Squall whose face was contorted with disbelief and confusion.

"Wha . . . what," Squall stuttered in practically a whisper, "what does that mean?"

Cid sighed.

"We don't know exactly, but it certainly DOESN'T mean that Zell, well, that he . . . . ," Cid's voice droned out, but Squall caught his drift.

"He's not." Squall suddenly declared as he stood up. "I'll find him, . . . . I have to find him."

Cid rose to his feet and put his hand on Squall's shoulder. He had never seen Squall so worked up before, and you could never tell what was going on in that head of his.

"Calm down," Cid said softly, trying to comfort the young man. "We're working on finding him. I've already sent for Selphie to fly from Trabia back to Balamb. She'll lead the search party."

"I can lead the . . . . ," Squall started but Cid quickly raised his hand to silence him.

"Selphie can do it, and besides, SeeD needs YOU to be at the Garden."

Squall reluctantly shook his head in agreement. He knew that he would have to remain at Balamb Garden instead of leading the mission to find Zell.

"Your right," Squall stubbornly admitted. "What's the plan?"

"I'll explain it all when we get to the Garden," Cid told his young companion as he put on his slightly damp hat and coat.

Squall began to slip on his coat but froze abruptly. 

"You start without me," he said hesitantly. "I have to talk to Rinoa before I leave. She went out to meet my sister, Ellone, at the train station and should be back soon. Plus, I've got to get a few things together first."

Without another word, Cid nodded and stepped out into the rain. He rain down the street as Squall watched from the doorway.

"Oh god," Squall muttered to himself as he slowly closed the door. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


	4. The Storm Is Coming

# 

# Chapter 3: The Storm Is Coming

The boat swayed fiercely as crashing waves splashed all around it. Zell lay sprawled across the floor of the little raft. He pushed himself up by his arms and lifted one of his hands to his lip. Looking at his fingers, Zell saw a dark red liquid.

"Damn it," Zell muttered to himself as he leaned back against the side of the boat.

"It's about time you came to," Seifer said spitefully when he noticed that Zell had gained conscientiousness.

Zell turned his head and stared coldly at Seifer. When he inspected his previous fighting opponent closely, Zell saw, to his great pleasure, a huge gash along his hairline and that his left eye had begun to swell and blacken. Seifer's right hand was also wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth. 

Although tying to meet Seifer's cold look, a smile slowly formed on Zell's face and he laughed quietly, despite himself.

"God, do YOU look bad!!" Zell exclaimed, pointing at Seifer.

"Yes, and you….," Seifer chuckled, "you look like a half drowned, blood-soaked rat."

Zell startled at the statement. He had not had a chance to look at himself. He glanced down and surveyed his body. Zell saw that his arms were covered in bruises and scratches, there was blood from a gash on his chest seeping through his shirt, and his pants were ripped and stained. Plus, he noticed a tingling numbness running through his body, concentrating mostly around his legs.

". . . Yeah," Zell admitted, "I don't really look, or feel, like my handsome self, huh?"

Zell hesitated and then looked at Seifer again. 

"You know what? I may appear to be in bad shape, but," he paused as excitement (and amusement) began building in him, "you look much worse than me. I really kicked YOUR ass! Who's the chicken wuss now, eh Chicken wuss?"

Zell laughed and was surprised to hear Seifer's laugh accompanying his.

"Let's see you stand up and say that to my face," Seifer retorted, his mischievous eyes glowing in anticipation, ". . .that is, if your man enough."

Zell leaped to his feet to meet the challenge, but as soon as he did, a sudden blinding pain swept through his body and he crumpled down to the floor. He shut his eyes tightly as he lay inertly on the ground of the boat.

"That's right," Seifer said amusingly. "After you foolishly attacked me and left this gash on my face, I hit you across the legs with the paddle. You fell unconscious immediately and then Raijin saw that I had broken your right leg. Raijin set the bone, and he generously stuck you with some morphine shots, which will, I assure you, wear off completely within the next half hour."

Zell raised his eyes to his foe and cruelly stared at him, "Why did y. . .," he started to question, but was quickly interrupted.

"I still don't like you and, in fact, I think I loathe you even more than before, if that's possible. However, Squall would come after me himself if I happened to kill you or injure you permanently. That's something I just don't feel like dealing with right now." Seifer sighed, "Hey, there's an incoming storm. With a little luck, you may yet be hit by lightening and die of electrocution. Squall won't be mad at me for that, though I'm sorry to say that I can't control the weather; thus, we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for your painful demise." 

Seifer smiled to himself at the thought. 

"Right," Zell responded wryly, "sure, what ever you say."

Turning his attention away from Seifer and onto the environment, Zell suddenly realized that the boat was moving. Looking around, he saw that a paddle (most likely the one used to break his leg) was split in two and thrown in pieces on the little so-called "deck". Still, they were moving, but how? Zell turned his gaze toward the bow and saw that a rope attached to the boat was pulling them to what seemed to be a small island that he could barely see in the distance.

"What the hell?" Zell mumbled as he looked at the mysterious rope.

Seifer, disturbed by all the muttering and mumbling, glanced upward at Zell.

"Oh, that's Raijin," he said, annoyed with Zell's stupidity. A wry smile appeared across Seifer face, "He graciously volunteered to pull us all the way to land. We'll be landing on that island, Naoka Island, shortly in order to get out of this goddamn no-excuse for a boat before the storm hits."

Seifer paused and then added vehemently, "If that's alright with YOU, Chicken wuss."

Seifer laughed to himself as he returned his attention to re-dressing the wound on his hand. He was really quite pleased Raijin had spotted the little boat. It was fun to tease, bully, and make fun of Zell. Seifer liked Zell's determination and "don't stop 'till I have what I want" attitude. It was refreshing and a pleasant change from the idiotic chatter of Raijin. Even Fuujin wasn't a good person for conversation, but Zell . . . . . Zell soaked everything up like a sponge. Seifer was satisfied in knowing that his insults would not be wasted on a moron, like Raijin, but rather be placed upon someone who will take offense and understand their meanings.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lightening lit the room in a burning blaze, and the sound of thunder rumbled ferociously a second later. The storm was getting closer to Balamb. Power all over town had gone out and sirens rang out from the fire station, urging people to stay inside. Squall sat nonchalantly in the living room with his half-sister, Ellone, while Rinoa dashed around the house to secure every window or crack from leakage.

"You know," Rinoa's voice hinted at her distress and weariness, "it would be nice if someone could help me."

Ellone stirred in her seat, ready to give assistance, but remained where she was when she caught a glimce of Rinoa's face. Following her sister-in-law's stare, Ellone's eyes rested on a black brief case next to Squall's feet.

"I'm going to go to the guest room," Ellone smiled at Rinoa. "You two have to talk, I sense."

With that, Ellone strided to the quaint little room assigned to her. She jumped happily onto her bed, glad to get away from the tension of the living room and to have a place to sleep. Content, although a tad worried about her brother, she closed her eyes in hopes of a peaceful slumber.

Rinoa frowned at Squall after Ellone had left. They had just gotten back from the train station and Squall, so far, had said little over a few words between Ellone and herself. Something was up and she fully intended to find out what.

"Honey," Rinoa said as she picked up Squall's hand, "what's wrong?"

She waited for him to answer, but no reply came. She sat down on the couch, scooting closer to him as she leaned her head on his shoulder, stroking his back with her hand.

"I . . . . . . ." Squall swallowed and took Rinoa's face into his hands, "have some news and . . . . . . . .it's not at all good."

Squall gazed into Rinoa's eyes, a concerned look on his face. Should he tell her? He fought with himself internally. Of course! After all, Zell is her friend, too. But looking at his love, he doubted his first judgment. Maybe she'll cry, he thought. This was something he never wanted to make his wife do. I'll be causing her pain!

As these thoughts raced through his head, Rinoa sat patiently next to him.

"Alright." Rinoa crooned, trying to sound calm, "Tell me what happened."

Squall hesitated, "Cid came by earlier today. I have to return to the Garden for . . . . . . . ."

His voice trailed away to a stop. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat to continue, " A search party is needed. . . . . to find. . . . .umm . . . .to find Zell. He's missing. No communication with him has been made in hours."

Rinoa gasped and covered her mouth. "Zell?" she questioned, "That can't be! I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. . . . .right?"

Squall shook his head slowly, "He's definitely missing, . . . . . . . but he's probably fine."

"Yeah, I know." Rinoa sighed, "It's just like him to go off on a mission and get lost, worrying us to death."

Squall smiled, "You're right. Still, I need to go to the Garden. It's going to be very hectic, what with the search party gone, cure ingredients needing finding, and other international problems awakening."

"Right," Rinoa said sadly. "You can't leave everything up to Cid. It's your job now, and you have to go even if it means less time together."

Squall chuckled as he pulled his wife closer to him, giving her a soft kiss on her rosy cheek, "I was so mad when Zell accidentally knocked me down the stairs, running like a madman in order to obtain a few measly hotdogs!"

Rinoa's eyes lit up at the memory, "Ah, yes. You yelled at him like YOU were a madman when you gained consciousness and found that he had broken your leg."

They both smiled as they remembered Zell's heartfelt apology that came along with his never-ending presence around their home. Zell had made a point to come by every other day to help out with chores Squall's leg prevented him from doing. It was a sweet gesture, greatly appreciated by Rinoa especially.

"I really should go. . . . ." Squall whispered into her ear. "I probably won't get home tonight with all this work and the storm."

Rinoa blinked. "Please," she asked hopefully, "can I come? I won't get in the way! I swear, and. . . ."

Squall raised his hand to silence her. "I was hoping you'd want to. After all, I won't feel right leaving you while there is such a dangerous storm brewing outside. I would worry my head off!"

Rinoa hugged him tightly. "Thank you! I'll go get Ellone and pack."

"Be ready soon, the storm is getting worse by the minute." Squall warned as Rinoa fled to the guest room.

Squall sat back and sighed. "I hope Zell's not caught in this monstrosity," he mumbled to himself fearfully as he glanced out the window at the waving branches, pouring rain, and flashes of lightening.

______________________________________________________________________________________________


	5. Friends United

Chapter 4: Friends United 

"It's all set," Selphie yelled back from the cockpit as she set the autopilot on the most direct route to Balamb Garden. Sighing deeply, she turned and began walking slowly towards the back of the plane. Her mind engrossed in thought, Selphie fumbled into a big, cozy chair to clear her mind.

"Darlin'?" questioned a voice that seemed to come from right in front of her.

"…….Yes?" Selphie responded as she lifted her swollen red eyes to find her boyfriend crouched down at the foot of the chair in which she rested.

Irvine reached up to lightly brush away her tears.

"It's alright, ya know," he explained to her softly. "Zell one the most capable young'uns out there. Hell, he's saved me a plenty a times!"

At that a small smile appeared across Selphie's face. Irvine rose to his feet, looking concernedly at his girlfriend.

"We'll find him. I promise…." With that Irvine bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. 

"Mmmm……..thank you." Selphie whispered. "I'm just a little tired, I guess. You go on and do what you need to do, I'm just gonna take a short nap."

As if to confirm this statement, she let out a big yawn.

"Alrighty," Irvine told her as he backed out of the room, heading towards the cockpit. "Good night."

Alone in the room, Selphie dried her eyes and snuggled closer to the chair.

"It'll be okay," she mumbled to herself as she slowly drifted to sleep. "Everything's…gonna be……fine…"

"NO, NO, NO!! GET OUT!!"

Cid jumped back from the door as sounds of yelling bursted out of the room he was just about to go into. His ears were ringing loudly, and he shook his head in hopes of clearing his mind of the torturous sound.

"Squall's back, and his voice is as good as ever," he mumbled wearily to himself as he reached for the doorknob to 'Headmaster Squall's Office', trying his luck again in entering the room.

As Cid opened the door a young new trainee came running past him, obviously unsettled by the previous meeting with Squall. Taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the up and coming conference, Cid took a few long strides into the office and seated himself in a leather chair, opposite the mahogany desk used by Balamb Garden's Headmaster.

Squall, engrossed in paperwork, didn't even notice Cid's arrival. He sat quietly, concentrating deeply on the tasks before him.

"Ehem…." Cid cleared his throat.

Squall looked up sharply, anger swelling within him, but seeing that it was only Cid, his madness dissolved away to weariness.

"Hey…." Squall said softly as he put the articles he was working on to the side and focused his attention on his unexpected visitor.

"Are you alright?" Cid asked as regret swept over him as he saw how tired and worn out Squall was. He shouldn't have asked Squall to come back to Balamb. It was too much work for one person to handle, and when Squall was in charge, he liked to do everything on his own. It was something Cid really admired: Squall's independence.

Squall hesitated. "I'm not the one in danger here. It's Zell, the victims at Trabia, and Rinoa….."

"Rinoa?" Cid asked. "What's wrong with Rinoa?"

"……..well…….every morning now for the last five days or so," Squall sighed, "she's been getting sick. I think it's some sort of stomach illness. Nothing life threatening, but it still bothers me."

"Hmmmm, every morning?" Cid thought to himself. "Doesn't sound too serious. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Yeah…….." Squall took in a deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair. "So, what brings you to my office?"

"Right. I just wanted to inform you that Selphie contacted the Garden," he began. "She told us that she expected to arrive here in less than an hour. You know her; she'll be here as soon as possible. Irvine's coming, too.

"Ok, well I'm glad that the search will be underway soon," Squall stated. "It'll be comforting knowing that Selphie's out looking for…Zell."

Cid sighed, "Yes it will. But that's not all I came to tell you about. I had sent out a girl named Helen, you know, the one with the ponytail?"

Squall nodded. 

"She flew in a solo flyer to Kempi Island, retrieving as much as the Phlemnisium Herb as she could find, and carry on her small craft." Cid smiled at the thought of the shy girl. "She and Zell were close……. And she was very concerned when Zell was reported missing….."

Squall turned away. He knew how she felt too well. He didn't want to let his feelings in, to think about them. He needed to keep going, and to stay busy.

Suddenly, they're conversation was interrupted by a voice over the loudspeaker:

**_"Attention, landing dock 54 has received its flight. Councilor Cid, please report to landing dock 54, SeeD agents Selphie and Irvine have arrived. I repeat, Councilor Cid is requested at landing dock 54. Thank you."_**

**_ _**

After this announcement, Cid abruptly stood and began to leave.

"Wait," Squall called. "I'm coming, too."

With that, the two Headmasters, one retired and one just starting out, jogged down the hall towards the landing docks. Jumping into the elevator, Squall quickly pressed "4" and held the door for Cid. Up they went, finally reaching their destination: the 4th floor.

"Here we are," Squall mumbled to himself as he jogged down the corridor to landing dock number 54. 

Squall keyed in the access code, and the big metal door "clicked". Suddenly, the door slide opened to reveal Selphie and Irvine.

"Hey!!" Selphie squealed with surprise and delight. She leaped into Squall's arms, embracing him with a long hug.

"Howdy, there Squall, Cid," Irvine nodded as he extended his hand to shake.

"Come on," Squall said, taking Selphie's hand in his own. "Let's go to my office."

Squall led the little band of four up the path he had just a minute ago came by along side of Cid. Down the elevator, and still father down they descended. A loud "bing" indicated that they had reached their desired floor. A second later, the doors slid open and they all filed out.

Finally, the group came to a door with a plate inscribed: "Headmaster Squall's Office".

"Here we are," Squall forced a smile at Selphie as he let them into his private room.

Selphie followed right behind Squall, and he could clearly hear her little "ooo's" and "ahhh's" that she made as she gazed around the room. She had last seen the office about a year ago, when Cid held the title of Headmaster, and Squall had since remodeled it to better fit his liking. Now, the room was no longer just an ornate place for special meetings and honor ceremonies; it was a workstation.

Selphie unexpectedly yelped in awe, grabbing Squall's arm to gain his attention.

"Look!" she exclaimed as she pointed and ran at the same time towards the desk.

Both Cid and Squall stared in bewilderment as Selphie jumped into the big, leather swivel chair behind the desk.

Irvine shook his head, stifling a laugh, as his girlfriend twirled around in the chair gleefully.

"Ya'll better slow down, now," Irvine warned between chuckles.

But his warning was too late. Selphie, just a minute ago yelling out in exhilaration because of the spinning-type ride, felt her stomach move. She brought herself to an abrupt stop and, as her head spun, sickness came over her. Placing her hands over her mouth, she ran past the three half stunned, half worried gentlemen out of the room and towards the bathroom.

Squall, Cid, and Irvine both exchanged glances.

"She'll be fine," Cid assured the two others as he sat and gestured them to do the same.

Irvine sighed and took his seat, "Down ta business."

"Right," Squall responded. He rose from his seat and walked over to his desk. Holding down the intercom button, he paged "Quistis Trepe", asking her to his office.

Cid nodded. "As soon as Quistis, and Selphie, get here, we can start."

As if on cue, there was a sudden knock at the office door.

"Come in," Cid called over his shoulder.

Quistis slowly pushed the door wide, holding Selphie up and guiding her into the room. She eased the pale-faced girl into Irvine's arms, and he, in turn, seated her in a chair right next to his own. 

"Thank ya, Quisty," Irvine told her sincerely, as Selphie moaned her own appreciation to their old friend.

"Hey, just happy to help out a friend." smiled Quistis, waving her hand in greetings to the others in the room.

"NOW, I believe we are ready for you to begin," Cid said to Squall.

Without a moment's hesitation, Squall began to explain the plan:

"First, you'll all be happy to know that the samples SeeD agent Helen Martinez brought back to us have been tested, and the cure made from it has been declared safe and effective for all the residents of Trabia Garden. I will be going, along with a group of five or so other agents and a farming team, to Kempi Island in order to supervise the harvest of the Phlemnisium Herb. It is essential that we accomplish this task, so I am going. Cid will look after the Garden in my absence."

Cid nodded his approval, "Sure, I can do that."

Squall smiled, gaining strength with this voiced support, and then he continued,

"Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis, I need you three to go to all the islands that appear near the route Zell was going on to get to Kempi Island. The storm out there is pretty bad, and I'm sure he took cover on one of those places. Helen Martinez assured us that there was no trace of him on Kempi, but my team will radio you if he happens to show up."

" I'll expect hourly reports," Squall proclaimed sternly, " and please TRY not to get hurt yourselves! I can't have more than one SeeD……or friend…..missing at a time." 

Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis all assured Squall of their cooperation. Then there was a sudden voice, assuring HER cooperation to the terms that Squall just listed, from the door.

They all turned to see Ellone, Squall's sister, standing at the door.

"I'm going with the search party, too," she announced to the group, staring at her brother.

Squall opened his mouth in protest, but quickly dismissed the idea. He knew that his sister had made up her mind. She wanted to help, and arguing would be pointless.

"Okay," Squall said reluctantly. "You FOUR will go to look for Zell. I suggest you start with Yali, Giboon, and Naoki Island."

"Alrighty," Irvine cocked his left eyebrow, while rising to his feet. "Girls, what are we waitin' for?"

The four of them headed back up to the landing dock, leaving Squall and Cid to discuss their other plans of getting the cure together and how the Garden was to be run while Squall was on Kempi Island. 

Now, the search had truly begun.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


	6. Finding a Safe Haven

Chapter 5: Finding A Safe Haven

** **

The winds were beginning to pick up, making the waves swell to at least twice their normal size. The boat rocked furiously as the water pounded its sides. Rain pelted down upon the three wary passengers, compromising their vision and sense of direction. The island that once seemed so close was lost in the storm…

"There it is!" Zell jumped to his feet. "I see it! I see it!"

Seifer slowly pulled himself to his feet. Raijin and Zell kept yelling that exact phrase over and over again, every five or six minutes. He was miserable, tired, and irritated. In Seifer's opinion, someone was going to die…he could only take so much idiocy!

"Oooooo," gasped Raijin, "I think I see it, too, ya know?"

"Of course you see it…." Seifer muttered under his breath, "….after all…you've been SEEING it for the last hour. You and Zell seem to share a brain or something… 'I see it'…then the other does too…sick, just disgusting…."

Zell narrowed his eyes and stared at Seifer. "You got somethin' ta say?"

Seifer sighed and spoke with a biting sarcastic tone, "Where's the island THIS time, eh, Chickenwuss?"

"What did you…" Zell, unable to walk because of a broken leg, groped the deck around him, searching for something to throw. The answer suddenly presented itself: the broken paddle. Gripping it in his hands, Zell chucked the splintered piece of wood at his nemesis.

Seifer, his attention no longer on Zell, didn't even see the stick flying through the air towards his head. He gasped in pain at the impacted, reeling backwards. Seifer, having the wind knocked out of him, had completely lost his balance. He hit the side of the boat and tumbled instantly over the side. The sudden change in weight made the boat capsized, tossing Zell into the rough, dark, swirling water along with Raijin.

Zell paddled with his arms as if his life depended on it, which he was sure was true. He tried to kick, but his leg ached and sent streams of pain through his body, paralyzing him momentarily. The depths kept pulling him down as the current pushed him further and further. Finally, his breath ran out. Zell tried one last time to use his legs, only to be plagued with instant mind numbing torture….and then everything went black as he lost consciousness.

Seifer shivered as he trudged out of the ocean. He was thoroughly soaked from head to toe, and seaweed, disgusting seaweed that combined with sand, was plastered all over his body. Stumbling through the last few feet of water, he dragged himself a little ways up the beach and collapsed in exhaustion on the sandy shore. Seifer coughed, spitting on the ground beside him in hopes of getting rid of the horrible salty taste. 

The last hour provided one of the worst experiences that Seifer could ever remember having. First, Zell had hit him square on the forehead with the splintered paddle, which not only created a huge gash running from temple to temple all along his hairline, but also caused their boat to capsize. After being thrown into the rough current, Seifer had had to swim towards an island he couldn't even see. Light-headed from loss of blood, Seifer had practically given up. He had been just too tired to swim anymore, but then he had remembered Zell. Seifer wouldn't allow that yellow-bellied, scum-faced, piece of shit to get away with what he had done. The thought of revenge, of a fight, fueled his devotion to keep going. Finally, after an hour of merciless pounding by the waves, Seifer had discovered that he could stand. It was a sand bar! Peering through the sheet of never-ending rain, he had made his way to the shore. 

Now, as he sat on the wet sand, he noticed that the rain seemed to be letting up a bit. Taking advantage of the situation, Seifer clamored up the beach towards the tropical-looking palm trees. He fumbled through the foliage, making his way deeper and deeper into the forest.

As he walked, Seifer thought of a hilarious idea: what if the others hadn't survived? He grinned as he realized Zell had a very slim chance of surviving with his broken leg, and Raijin was so STUPID it would be a miracle if he ever found land. Although he had to admit to himself that it would be a BIT bored being trapped on this island all alone, it would on the other serve the others right.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Seifer let out a loud cackle that echoed through the treetops.

In what seemed like less than a second later, a large object came hurling through the air directly at him. Seifer yelped as he tried to take cover behind a tree trunk, but was hit hard in the arm. He was under attack, and unfortunately his gunblade was lost when the boat capsized………….another thing Zell Dincht would have to atone for.

Breathing heavily, Seifer ducked low, flattening himself on the forest floor. The ample supply of shrubs, bushes, flowers, and trees proved a wonderful hiding place. Listening with all his might, Seifer heard footsteps coming closer and closer, bringing along with them the sound of…….voices?

"Where did it go!?!?" cried a person in a frustrated tone.

"I don' know…….did ya hit it?" questioned a second man.

"What do you mean 'did I hit it?' …..of course I hit it! Maybe it's hiding," stated the frustrated, and now what seemed to be annoyed voice.

Hearing these few phrases, Seifer immediately knew who the two people were: they were no other than his OWN boating 'companions'!

"So Zell and Raijin made it after all," Seifer muttered in a raspy voice. His arm ached with pain from where it had been unexpectantly hit as he continued to listen to their conversation. 

"I just don't get it…." Zell shook his head to indicate his dismay. "You heard it, right?"

"Yeah," Raijin hesitated, "……it was like a bird call or something, ya know?"

"I SAW it," Zell exclaimed with frustration. "A big, dark, tall thingy with a tail………..it was right here!"

Seifer lay not even twelve feet from Raijin and Zell, listening to all they were saying. It was cracking him up! He literally had to shove both of his hands into his mouth in order to stifle the laughter. Seifer's whole body shook with the folly and stupidity of it all until he couldn't contain himself a minute longer.

Picking up two fairly heavy rocks, Seifer eased himself to his feet.

"CHICKENWUSS!!"

With that, two stones went zooming through the air, directly at Zell and Raijin. Seifer was so close that neither of the two had time to do anything but look straight at the source of the yelling. In that instant, the rocks took dead aim, hitting Raijin square in the neck and Zell in his jaw. They both were reeling backwards from the impact, and then Seifer heard two soft "thumps".

Seifer bounded happily out of his hiding place towards his fallen victims.

"Hey there Chickenwuss," Seifer said innocently as he extended his hand to help Zell up off the ground.

"Seifer!!!" Zell exclaimed, obviously shocked. "You made it, and…Hey! Did you see it too?"

Seifer smiled to himself, "You mean that…big, dark, tall monster?"

Raijin, who had just regained his breath and footing, yelled out in triumph, "YEAH!! And, and, and it um made a weird noise….like a bird, ya know?"

Seifer continued to play along, "I heard it and came running towards it. I thought maybe it was some kind of animal I could kill for food. Then I saw it, crouched in those trees over there….."

"Really?" Raijin questioned, "Zell, it must 'uv been hiding behind that tree trunk the whole time!"

"…..yeah," Zell looked skeptically at Seifer.

"And that thing," Raijin continued proudly, "threw those rocks at us!!!"

Seifer chuckled. He just loved manipulating people into thinking he was a "hero". If someone owed you for "saving" them, they tended to be easier to handle when he wanted them to do something for him.

"I yelled as soon as I saw the vicious creature," Seifer smiled. "After all, I knew Zell had a bad leg, and even with that split-contraption you have made for yourself, I seriously doubt that you would be able to out run, or limp, anything. So I, thankfully for you, screamed out the first thing that came to mind which of course was Chickenwuss……."

"Thanks, Seifer," Raijin's eyes were full of wonder at his "hero".

Zell, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at Seifer's tail of heroic and hesitated.

"…….riiiight," Zell stated sarcastically. "Sure. A monster that throws rocks, eh?"

Seifer smiled wryly at Zell, "Looks like it hit you pretty hard."

Zell wiped the blood off his jaw and shrugged, "It's not that bad."

"Anyway," Seifer made a point to change the subject after seeing the fire in Zell's expression, "we need to find some shelter."

"Oooo!" Raijin piped in, "Earlier on, I saw a cave, ya know. Can we use that?"

Zell and Seifer both turned their heads towards Rajin. "Cave?" they questioned almost instantaneously.

"Didn't I tell ya?" Raijin asked sheepishly. "There is this cave thingy over on the other side of the bluff."

"Why the fricken' didn't you say that earlier!?" yelled Seifer. "We could have built a fire and dried off, instead of standing in the middle of this goddamn forest, soaking wet, and talking about monsters!!"

Zell sighed, "Alright, Raijin, why don't cha just lead the way to this cave before Seifer explodes.."

"Okay…." Raijin said sadly, "But I am really sorry, Seifer…..I just wasn't thinkin', ya know?"

At this Seifer let out a long, well over due laugh. "Yeah… wasn't thinking….that's a good one Raijin…."

Raijin, although obviously unaware of what was so funny, became instantly more cheery as Seifer laughed. Now, he proudly showed his "hero" and Zell the location of the cave, which was ONLY a ten-minute hike away….

"Here it is!!!" Raijin boasted, as he revealed a cave, no bigger than eight feet all the way around at the base of a small bluff. 

"Umm…..great," Zell smiled at Raijin. "Let's just go, the wind's picking up again along with the rain…"

"Yeah, oh wise cave finder," Seifer said mockingly, "Please lead us into the depths of this dangerous looking tunnel."

Raijin jumped at the opportunity to be the "leader". He rushed forward, beaming happily.

"Wait a sec," Zell grabbed Raijin's arm to get his attention. "We should get some wood or something first, so we can light a torch."

"All right, Zell," Seifer patted him roughly on the back. " Why don't you go get some wood?"

"Me?" Zell asked innocently. "You know with my leg and all, I can only do so much…but how about you, Seif, why don't cha go get some sticks for us, eh?"

Seifer scowled, but quickly reached down and picked up one thick branch. "Well, I've got my torch. Good luck to the rest of you."

With that, Seifer strided past Zell and Raijin and went into the cave. Calling on some fire magic that he had recently drawn from a monster in the outskirts of Timber, he lit the stick and continued to walk in to the cave.

"Wha…….HEY!" Zell yelled as he limped as fast as he could in to the cave after Seifer. He could tell this was going to be a bad idea the minute he walked in to the tunnel. Chills ran down his spine as he tried to follow the dim glow of Seifer's flame that was ahead of him by at least twenty or so feet.

"Stop, ya know," Raijin, who ran along side Zell, shouted. "Please, Seifer!"

Suddenly, the light stood still, as if Seifer HAD stopped! Raijin and Zell quickened their pace.

"Hey, girls," Seifer mocked as they approached him, "Were you afraid that I would leave you without any fire, in the dark?"

"That….wasn't…..fun..ny," panted Zell.

"Riiight," Seifer responded sarcastically, "Not one bit."

"Shut….up," Zell scolded as he tried to catch his breath.

"Ooooo!!" exclaimed Raijin. "It's a CHAMBER thing!!"

Zell followed Raijin's gaze and saw that he was right: Seifer had lead them into some sort of tunnel that had suddenly opened up, revealing a room like place over thirty feet all the way around.

"Yep," Seifer stated. "This is where we're gonna sleep. But, first, we need to build a fire."

Eventually, after a lot of arguing, they three party members managed to obtain a sufficient amount of twigs and leaves to start a small fire. Seifer laid out his shirt and coat to dry, and Raijin, along with Zell, both followed his example. Then the all settled down to relax and talk…..although Seifer had his own agenda.

"So how did you survive, ZELLY?" questioned Seifer.

"Well, SEIF, I was knocked unconscious, but you'll be happy to know, Raijin rescued me," answered Zell.

"Really? How interesting, ZELLY." Seifer mused. "Raijin saved YOU?"

"This is a fact, SEIF," Zell nodded.

"Then, Raijin, how did YOU get to the island with ZELLY?" inquired Seifer as he continued to pick the seaweed out of his hair.

"Well, gee," Raijin said bashfully, "I just grabbed some of the wreckage of our boats and saw Zell, so I grabbed him, too, and umm paddled with my hands all the way to shore."

"Wow," Seifer exclaimed. "That's amazing! PADDLED to shore, you say? Amazing, just extraordinary.."

Zell sighed as he had a foreboding feeling as to what was coming.

"Well," Seifer smiled wryly at Zell, "I swam all the way, no drift wood and no one to carry me. So, I think you've now EARNED the name 'Chickenwuss' forever."

Zell, looked away. If he didn't respond, didn't make a big deal about it, Seifer would drop it. He just needed to ignore it…

"Cat got your tongue, eh, Chickenwuss?" Seifer laughed.

Zell fumed and turned quickly to meet his nemesis's eyes.

"Ummm…." Raijin stuttered as even he saw the incoming storm approaching as clearly as he saw the one going on outside. Though, he feared, unlike the weather, this fury would take a life…………

____________________________________________________________________________________________


	7. Realizing the Truth

Chapter 6: Realizing The Truth 

** **

"Okay, does anyone have a plan?" Quistis inquired to the three other passengers on board the Ragnarok.

"Yes," Selphie answered with a smile. " We're gonna fly around and around 'til we find Zell. It'll be kinda like that time, you know last summer, when Seifer and Squall got in that stupid argument about god knows what!"

"Oh, I remember that!" Quistis giggled. "That's when Seifer threw Squall's best gunblade out of the plane emergency hatch."

"That was hell," Irvine remarked, putting his two cents in. "I had to fly the plane, while Squall ranted and raved over my shoulder. Geez, he went on and on 'bout how his gunblade is a very important, not to mention expensive, weapon. Then, he even told me how Seifer was gonna pay, and….."

"Speaking of Seifer," Ellone interrupted in hopes of changing the subject to a more productive line of thought, "I didn't see him at Balamb, and whenever I'm in town, he usually stops by to see me."

"Really?" Quistis asked with a concerned note in her voice. "That doesn't seem like Seifer. I mean, when I saw him three or four days ago, he was very excited about your visit. Whenever you come, Seifer becomes happier, and even nicer. Why would he miss seeing you? It doesn't make any sense."

"Three days ago?" questioned Selphie. "That's when SeeD sent out all those agents, including Zell…"

Quistis's face brightened and she snapped her fingers in joy as an idea came to her. "But Seifer WASN'T assigned to any mission because he had taken a weeks vacation. He was going fishing with Raijin the last time I saw him in a motor boat."

"Yeeha, now we're getting' someplace!" Irvine whooped as he typed bits of Quistis's information into his laptop computer. "Aha! I got it. One motorboat, number 11517, entrusted to one SeeD, by the name of Seifer Almasy. Number of passengers: Two. Time of departure: 5:37:09 AM on Saturday, May 22nd. Time of arrival: ……hmmm……that's funny….."

"What?" Selphie asked excitedly. "What's wrong?"

"Well," Irvine continued, "according to this, Seifer never came back to the Garden."

"Then," Ellone gulped as her eyes widened in worry, "Seifer was out there, too, when that horrible storm hit."

Irvine stared understandingly at Ellone, taking her hand in his own. "Don't worry, lil' lady. After all, this here is a search party and there's nothin' we do bedder than find missin' persons.We jus' need to find out where Seifer was a headin'."

"That's right," Selphie added, "all we need is a place to start looking. Hey, Quisty, do you remember if Seifer said anything to you about where he was going?"

"Umm…" Quistis leaned her chin on her hand. "He was talking about how there would be tons of fish there, and that it was pretty far away so he need to get a boat with a motor. Oh! And he wanted to catch a Mannedorrin Sea Goblin as a present for Ello…oops…sorry, Ellone, it was supposed to be a surprise." 

Ellone smiled, "That's alright, Quisty. But tell me about this Mannedorrin Sea Goblin. Is it, by any chance, rare?"

"Hell yeah!" Irvine yelled almost falling out of his seat. "Those beauties can only be found hangin' around the Serpent Islands. It's 'cause the water there is soo warm! It's been said that they favor the outer coral reefs of Naoki and Beetle Islands. Actually, those two islands are about 200 miles apart and the sea goblins like to live right in between them."

"So," Selphie concluded, "if Seifer wanted to get that fish for Ellone, he would have to go to Naoki or Beetle Island."

Quistis nodded. "And that would make Seifer around or even on the path that Zell was to take to get to Kempi Island."

"Right," Irvine agreed. "Now's the time for that plan."

"Okay, how about we break into two groups?" suggested Quistis. "Elle and myself will look for them on Naoki Island, while Irvine and Selphie try to locate them on Yali Island."

They all nodded, waiting for Quistis to continue.

"For five hours, we'll search our island, and after that time has past, Irvine and Selphie will come to pick up Elle and I in the Ragnarok. Then, if nobody finds anything, each party will take a different island." Quistis sighed, "It may take a while, but we'll find them eventually."

"Sounds good to me!" Selphie jumped to her feet, ready for action. "Let's get started."

"Alrighty then," Irvine hesitated. "But before we go, someone should call Squall, just to let him in on the plan."

"I can't right now," Quistis explained as she half ran out of the room, calling back to the others from the plane's main computer room, "I have to look up a few things about the island…research stuff."

"Umm…" Selphie turned her head towards the ground, pretending to be interested with something on the floor.

"Well," Irvine said at a loss, "I am definitely NOT callin' him!! He'll bite my head off, so….Elle?"

Irvine looked at Ellone wearing an expression, which could be clearly read as 'pretty please'.

"Oh, how's a girl to refuse that face," she responded as she playfully pinched Irvine's cheek. 

There was no electricity in the recently constructed mess they called an office. This meant that there was no air conditioning and no fans. In fact, the "office" didn't even have a roof. The sun had free rein, and it took advantage of every minute of it, dawn until dust. The hot rays beat down mercilessly on every object in the room; making it impossible to touch anything without receiving a minor, but pain aching, burn. 

But to all these things, Squall took no notice. His hair was soaked in perspiration and sweat was slowly dripping down his forehead. Still, Squall's hand was steady, his mind undaunted. He filled out form after form and checked report after report. 

Workers from the harvest team came in to leave their paperwork with him, explaining their progress and further information about the Phlemnesium Herb, but Squall paid no attention to them. He simple worked nonstop as if he were incapable of feeling, like a robot.

Suddenly, for the first time since his arrival to the Kempi Island piece of crap office, the phone began to ring.

"Huh?" Squall looked up from his never-ending forms and stared, bewildered, at the phone. Finally, after three rings, his senses came back to him and he picked up the phone.

"H-hello," he stuttered in a raspy, dry voice that had no been used from the time when he had entered the office. "This is Squall Leonhart." 

"Squall?" asked the person on the opposite line.

"Elle!" Squall yelled excitedly as he recognized her voice. "What's the matter? Are you all right? Did you find Zell? Are you…"

"Slow down there," Ellone laughed, "Please, let me just take one question at a time before you continue. First, there's NOTHING the matter. I'm fine and so is everyone else. No, I'm sorry to say that we didn't find any sign of Zell on the route to Kempi."

Squall sighed. 

"Don't worry," Ellone said in the hopes of brightening his feelings, "We did find out that Seifer was out in these parts too when.."

"SEIFER!" Squall exclaimed as he bolted straight up in his seat in alarm. "What do you mean? Did he intercept Zell and cause trouble? What happened to.."

"I'm not going to tell you anything if you don't stop interrupting me." Ellone told him teasingly.

Squall took a deep breath. "Your right. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Ellone responded. "Now, back to what I was saying. Seifer is also trapped out here somewhere, and there's a possibility that Zell met up with him at some point so if we find Seifer, we may get a lead on Zell. Anyway, we can't just leave anyone stranded out on a tropical island.."

Squall began to dispute Ellone's last statement, but she immediately cut in, not giving him a chance to even get out his first syllable.

"I thought you weren't going to interrupt?" Ellone questioned jokingly. "Ehem, so Irvine and Selphie are going to Yali Island, and Quistis and I are going to go to Naoki Island. We'll send you a satellite as soon as we find something."

"Great," Squall said encouragingly. "I'm sure I'll hear from you soon, and I mean you. What? Was Irvine to scared to call me himself?"

Ellone laughed, "I'll make sure he calls next time."

"Sure," Squall remarked good naturedly, "I'm positive that he'll be thrilled when you suggest it."

"Yeah," Ellone said cheerily, "but there is something else. I was wondering how Rinoa was doing."

Squall, who had just started to relax again after the mention of Seifer, sprang up in his seat. "She's fine…why do you ask?"

"Oh, well it was just that," Ellone hesitated, "she seemed kind of…emotional. It was nothing really. I'm sure she's alright."

"Hmm.." Squall thought to himself. He had noticed Rinoa's moodiness, her weak stomach, and now Elle had observed her being 'kind of emotional'. "I think she's just upset about Zell, but I'm going to call Cid anyway and ask him to come out to the island. That way we can switch positions: Cid supervising the harvest, and me running the Garden. It's funny, Rinoa has suddenly developed a fear of flying so I couldn't get her to come out here with me, but if I go back to Balamb, I'll be able to spend some time with her."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ellone replied.

"Yeah," Squall sighed, "I have a feeling that everything's going to work out."

"I love that feeling," Ellone whispered into the phone. "I hope your right…."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


	8. The Cave

Chapter 7: The Cave

** **

"Why do you keep callin' me that?!?!" Zell jumped up and glared down at Seifer, who was sitting on the other side of their little, but effective, campfire.

Seifer looked up from the flames to meet Zell's stare, "Well, let's see….you're a chicken…..and you're a wuss…."

Zell fumed, "I'm ten times the man you are!! You're just a washed up, good-for-nothing, who likes to make up stupid nicknames about people he doesn't even really know!! You're so low, you're lower than low…you're rat scum…after spending the last few days with you, I can tell why your parents left you in the orphanage! Who in their right mind would want a bastard child like yourself?!"

Seifer's smile vanished from his face at the mention of the orphanage. "Are you forgetting that your parents abandoned you, too?"

"My parent's, my real parent's, died in a explosion at the plant they worked at! You're the only one who was just left because no one wanted you, and who could blame them? I was even adopted, while Matron couldn't even get a family to look at you!" Zell spat out the words in a blind rage, not even aware of what he was saying. "Squall hates you, Cid hates you, everyone at SeeD hates you, the people of Balamb hate you, and I hate you! The only ones who like you are morons, like Raijin and Fujin, or people who just feel so sorry for you, like Ellone, but she probably doesn't even really like you either! It's just a pity thing she has!"

Seifer's mouth hung open and he gasped as if Zell had hit him. Zell had hit a nerve, Seifer's weak spot. He wouldn't, he couldn't put up with some idiot saying thing like that about Ellone!

"You're dead," Seifer proclaimed in a raspy voice as he stood up to face his opponent.

It was dawn, and rays of light just began to streak the horizon. The storm that had not even a day ago pounded the Serpent Islands was no more than a memory. Trees were down, tides were up, but the birds were singing again. Recovery was to begin, and as Ellone looked out across the vast blue ocean, she shivered at the thought of the power of nature. It was a funny arrangement. Nature could make the most beautiful things, and it could just as easily destroy them. 

"Am I talking to myself?" Quistis asked as she touched Ellone's shoulder to get her attention.

"Huh?" Ellone jumped and as she realized that she hadn't been listening to what Quistis was saying, her face turned an embarrassed bright red. "Sorry, Quisty, it was just the ocean. I've always been fascinated by it…so big…so full of life."

Quistis sighed, "Yeah, it is a wonder. But we have to stay focused. We can't stare ideally out into nothingness.."

Ellone lowered her head at the rebuff. "You're right."

"Hey," Quistis smiled as she put her arm over Ellone's shoulders, "it's okay. So I guess my plan wasn't that good, eh?"

"Umm..," Ellone hesitated. "It's just that over the last few hours, we've made up so many plans. They're all getting mashed together and I just can't keep them straight."

Quistis laughed, "I know. How about something easy, then?"

They both stopped in their tracks. They had been strolling down the beach of Naoki Island as they talked, but in front of them, not even ten feet away, there was some sort of metal sticking out of the sand.

"Wha.." Quistis began, but Ellone was already kneeing on the beach next to the strange artifact.

Ellone began to push away the sand, revealing more and more of the shiny metal until it finally clicked. It was some sort of sword! She dug and dug as Quistis leaned over her shoulder, watching her every move. Then, just as Ellone had suspected, she found the "sword's" handle. Gripping it with two hands, Ellone stood up and began to pull.

"It's….a…sword," Ellone panted as she continued to pull at the buried object.

"Do you think it's," Quistis inquired softly, "Seifer's gunblade?"

But Ellone didn't have a chance to answer because with that last pull, the "sword" came flying out of the ground. Ellone tumbled to the floor, exhausted and tired. In her hands lay the handle of a cross weapon molded after two individual things, or as Squall might say, a gunblade.

"Oh my god," Quistis gasped, "That's definitely Seifer's"

Ellone frowned as she turned it over in her hands. "So he's here…somewhere."

"Yeah," Quistis nodded. "If his gunblade is on Naoki Island, he's got to be close by."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Ellone leaped up, gunblade in hand.

"Hold on," Quistis raised her eyebrows, "I hate to say it, but we need a plan."

"Ugh," Ellone rolled her eyes as she dropped back down to the ground.

Quistis laughed, "Okay, okay. I've got it. I'll go on down the beach to see if I can find any more wreckage, items or footprints. Squall, I'm sure, would kill me for letting you do this, but I've done my research and there's nothing really dangerous on this island so you can take that very nice looking weapon that I'm sure Seifer would kill me if I touched, and go in the forest to see if you can find any trace of anybody, whether it be Seifer or Raijin, or even Zell."

Quistis took off her backpack and handed Ellone a first aid kit, "Take this in case you find them."

"Got it," Ellone jumped up again and grabbed the box from her friend. "And you can contact Irvine and Selphie to tell them that we found a clue, well, a sort of clue."

"Alright," Quistis answered. "And we'll meet back here in.."

"Three hours," Ellone finished as she made a beeline for the trees. "See ya later!"

Ellone heard Quistis yell something in reply, but she was too far away, sheltered by trees, to be able to make out Quisty's exact words. 

"Be careful," Ellone whispered to herself as she rattled off what she imagined her friend had said. "Remember, three hours…"

Ellone chuckled and then mumbled to herself, "Alright, time to get started."

Ellone walked cautiously through the tall grass and exotic plants that hid the forest floor as if they were a kind of carpet. She tried to look for footprints, but she could barely find an inch of dirt on the ground. Then, Ellone concentrated on seeing blood. She went deeper and deeper into the foliage, and the further she went, the more red colored plants there was. False alarm after false alarm brought doubt and weariness. Soon, two hours had past and Ellone decided that she had better head back. She turned around but quickly discovered that she didn't remember coming that way.

"Oh dear," Ellone sighed as she sat down on a large rock to try and figure out the way to the beach. 

"This way is wrong," Ellone began to point and mumble to herself, "and this way leads there. That way can't be right."

"What am I going to do?" She remarked to herself as she stood up.

But as quickly as she had stood up, she froze. Ellone walked slowly forward towards a small yew tree. After touching its trunk, she looked at the red liquid that had rubbed off on her hand. Blood. Someone was here, someone had come this way. Ellone began to follow the trail of trampled leaves and blood, hoping that she was not too late and the first aid kit she carried would soon be in use.

The trail went on and on for about ten minutes, and then, finally Ellone arrive at a bluff. The footprints that she had found led right past a huge fallen tree that laid right up against the a wall of rock.

"Yeah, this is good," Ellone stated sarcastically as she stared at what seemed to be a hard rock wall. "Maybe they climbed it?"

Ellone tightened her backpack's straps and gripped the gunblade firmly in her hands. She approached the tree that was directly blocking her from her goal and examined it closely. It had fallen recently and was covered in vines. Ellone threw the gunblade over the tree and grabbed a vine. She began to pull herself over the trunk and when she reached the top, she jumped down the rest of the way. Then she realized that the wall wasn't solid rock. In front of her was a cave into which her trail continued.

"Ah aha." She sighed in relief and picked up the weapon that, in truth, was much too big for her.

"Seifer! Zell!" Ellone called into the dark and mysterious cave. "I guess I've got to go in there."

With that Ellone raised the gunblade and walked cautiously into the tunnel. She was alert to every sound, the squeak of a bat and the drip of water. She squinted her eyes and groped her way blindly through the long passageway. At the very end of this long tunnel, there was a soft glow like a fire.

"Seifer! Zell!" Ellone called out as she began to run towards the far off light. "Sei-fer! Ze-ll"

As she got closer, she realized that she was not the only one calling out. Seifer, she was sure it was him, was yelling something incoherent and Zell was groaning and calling out in pain. They were in trouble.

"Please," Ellone chanted over and over again, "don't let anything happen to them before I get there, please."  
  


She ran as fast as she could, guided by the sound of her friend's horror stricken voices. Cramps seized her body, but she didn't slow down. Instead she pushed herself to quicken her pace. She needed to get there, she wanted to get there, wanted to see them. Being so close just made her more nervous. Finally, she was ten feet away from the fire lit room, ten feet away from her friends. Ellone pushed herself the last inch and darted into the strange chamber. 

"Stop!" She yelled with every ounce of strength she had left.

Seifer, who was holding Zell in a headlock and punching him in the face, froze.

Zell wiggled free and stood staring at the out-of-breath Ellone.

"Ellone?!" Zell exclaimed as he rushed forward, squeezing her in a big hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you and Seifer and, umm, Raijin, of course," Ellone responded casually as she walked over to Seifer and kissed him gently on his cheek. "So I've found two, but where's Raijin."

"Raijin went out to look for something that could have washed up on the shore," answered Zell.

"Does he look as good as you two do, because if he does, he may have bleed to death before even coming within sight of the ocean." commented Ellone as she raised her eyebrows.

Zell and Seifer both chuckled loudly.

"I think for what we've been through, we're not looking THAT bad," Seifer remarked and then added under his breath, "but at least I don't look as bad as Zell."

"Hey, I heard that!" Zell said, cuffing Seifer across the side of his head.

"Zell! Be nice." Ellone warned as she pushed her way in between the two men.

"Sorry, Seif," Zell sneered as he back slowly away. "Don't know what came over me."

Seifer nodded sarcastically and turn away. Suddenly, he saw something shiny flicker though the side of his eye. He turns to find a gunblade lying by the entranceway to the chamber!

"Oh god, almighty," Seifer cried out as he ran and picked up his long lost weapon. "I had given up on ever seeing it again!"

"Yeah," Ellone smiled, "I just sort of came across it on the beach."

"Oh joy," Zell exclaimed, "now he has a weapon. A lunatic with a weapon in a confined space….geez, it doesn't get any worse."

"Shut up, Chickenwuss." Seifer swung his gunblade in Zell's direction.

"Now, Seifer," Ellone began, but her attempt to calm him was a waste.

"Come on, Zell," Seifer teased as he walked closer towards his enemy. "Let's have a little fun."

With that, Seifer charged forward, swinging his gunblade this way and that way.

"Seifer!" Zell yelled as he dogged the sharp edge of the deadly weapon. "This isn't funny."

Seifer smiled and placed his gunblade down on the ground. "So, you don't want to play anymore, Chickenwuss?"

Seifer turned to Ellone, "I wouldn't hurt someone half my size, Elle. Don't look so worried. It was just a joke."

"Not a very amusing one," Ellone replied.

Zell, breathing heavily, came out from behind a stalagmite and walked to the ring of fire. The light lit up the right side of his face with an orange-tinted glow, and cast a dark shadow on his left side. Together with his dilated eyes, clenched teeth, bruises, and bleeding cuts, Zell took on an almost eerily devilish appearance. 

"Umm, Seifer?" Zell called in an oddly soft, but shaking voice.

Seifer, who was sitting by the fire with Ellone, lifted his head to meet Zell's eyes.

Zell bent down and picked up Seifer's gunblade. He pointed it directly at Seifer and caulked the gun, ready to fire.

"Now, Zell," Seifer stood up, looking a little paler and a bit panic-stricken. "Put that down, you don't know how to handle it."

Zell laughed, "You just pull the trigger."

With that, the room lit up in a bright reddish-orange glow. Zell had been thrown backwards from the impact, hitting the far wall and crumbling into darkness. Seifer had grabbed Ellone and jumped into a little cove that opened up from the main chamber to shelter themselves from the blast and falling rocks.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


	9. On the Shoreline

Chapter 8: On the Shoreline 

"See ya later!"

"Be careful and try not to get into any trouble!" Quistis yelled back at Ellone, who had already emerged into the trees.

She sighed, "Why do I even try?"

Quistis shrugged as she stole one last glance at the forest and then turned back to the path she must follow. She began to walk along the beach, letting the waves flow towards her. She was just close enough for the water to wet the bottom of her feet and her toes. 

She cupped her hand to her eyes, creating a sort of visor against the sun. Quistis stared down the beach at the black dot that had caught her attention. Could it possibly be a living thing? She looked harder at the dot and was sure that it had moved.

Quistis gasped, "Hello!"

She began to dash down the beach, kicking up sand as she went. "Hello! He-llo!" she yelled down the beach at what she thought could be one of the missing persons.

She barreled down the way, and as she went, the black dot began to take the shape of a person. Quistis could soon make out legs and arms, a dark toned skin color, wearing a blue vest, black pants, and had a red rope tired around their waist. It was Raijin, or some island tribal who was a dead ringer for him.

"Raijin!!" Quistis called. "Hey, Raijin!"

As she yelled, the person froze. He turned to face her and lifted his hand as if waving.

"He-ll-o!" he yelled and then began to run down the beach to meet her.

Quistis sighed in relief as he approached her. "Raijin! I can't believe I found you!"

"Hey, Quistis," Raijin puffed out with the little breath he had left. "I'm…. so glad…. ta see ya, …..ya know?"

Quistis looked him up and down, and sat down on the sand. She gestured for him to sit beside her so she could asked him some questions about what had happened to him.

"Your not looking so good," Quistis giggled. "Tell me what happened. I know that you went out fishing with Seifer, but what…?"

"Happened?" Raijin finished her question. "Well, ya know, I don't really know where to begin."

Raijin scratched his head, and Quistis urged him to continue. 

"Umm, well, when Seifer and me met Zell," Raijin started but was immediately interrupted.

"Zell?" Quistis asked hopefully. "He was with you?"

"Yeah," Raijin nodded. "Our boat broke and then we saw Zell's boat and used fishin' poles to reel him in. I accidentally dumped all his equipment into the water so he couldn't call anyone."

Quistis shook her head. Now, that must have been the reason that the communication system between Zell and the Garden went dead.

"Anywayz, the storm came an' we's were tryin' ta get ta Naoki Island." Raijin hesitated. "But we couldn't see through the storm an' Seifer an' Zell got in another fight."

"Another fight?" Quistis asked, having a feeling of foreboding. 

"Yeah," Raijin explained. "They don't really get along, ya know?"

"I can imagine," Quistis rolled her eyes. "But they didn't hurt each other, right?"

Raijin looked at her with doubt-filled eyes. "Ummm, well, Zell's leg is….. and Seifer's hand… they both are pretty bruised and…cut up."

Quistis looked at him with a horrified look. "Where are they now?"

Raijin was taken aback. "They're in this cave, ya know. We used it for shelter when the storm was still goin' on."

"You left them alone, in an enclosed space, when they've already engaged in a number of fights." Quistis sat up, straight as an arrow and stared at Raijin, waiting for him to answer.

"Yeah," Raijin said slowly, looking down at the ground. "Seifer told me ta go an' see if I could find anything that washed up from our boat or even parts of our boat."

"Your boat?" Quistis stood up, more worried than ever about Zell and Seifer, but still interested in knowing what had happened while they were at sea. "You didn't get to the island on the boat?"

"Nope," Raijin shook his head. "We capsized. I had to swim all the way, carrying Zell 'cause he was unconscious. An' Seifer swam, too, but without usin' any driftwood like I did. He's really strong, ya know? We met in the forest an' went to the cave."

"Alright, okay, this is just fine," Quistis, who had been standing, seated herself back down on the sand and began fingering through her backpack. "Ah, here it is."

She pulled out a laptop computer with a headset attached to it. Placing it on her head she fixed the microphone to be next to her mouth and the earpiece to be situated correctly in order for her to be able to hear and talk without trouble. Raijin peeked over her shoulder as she typed in the SeeD access code to the Ragnarok's main computer's communications system. Quistis continued to sound an automatic alarm to gain the attention of one of the airship's passengers. Finally, an answer came from over the headset in a broken transition.

"He….o? Quis…can….. 'ear me?" asked Selphie.

"Selphie? There's too much static. Try turning the big knob to level 7 or 8," Quistis explained into the microphone as she adjusted the level on her own headset in hopes of establishing a better connection.

"Turn…wha…?" Selphie questioned.

"The big knob to level 7 or 8. Just turn the BIG KNOB," Quistis stressed as she tried to get the message across.

"Big…ob? Umm…..oh! Found it! Quisty? Can you hear me now?" Selphie asked hopefully after she had reset the dial to level 8.

"Loud and clear, " Quistis giggled.

"So, Quisty, what did you find out? Did you find Zell?" questioned Selphie without delay.

"Well, I have yet to actually see Zell or Seifer," Quistis hesitated, "but Raijin's here with me right now and he has assured me that they're on this island."

"Oh my god!" Selphie yelped for joy. "You better not be kidding with me, Quistis Trepe."

"I swear it's true!" Quistis exclaimed excitedly. "You two better stop flying around Yali Island and head on over here. I have to wait for Ellone to come back anyway so I'll be on the shoreline, about four miles north from our drop off point."

"Sounds great," Selphie told her without hesitation. "I'll tell Irvine to turn this ship around right away. We'll be there in fifteen minutes!"

"Sure," Quistis nodded, "see ya then!"

With that Quistis took off her headset and look at Raijin, who was lying down in the sand waiting patiently for her to end her conversation with Selphie. As he sat up to talk to her, she noticed that his hand seemed to hold his side as if he were injured.

"Is there something the matter with your side?" Quistis asked, as she looked him up and down, realizing how many bruises and gashes covered his skin.

"Jus' a lil' cut, ya know," Raijin answered.

Quistis raised her eyebrows skeptically, "A little cut?"

She made him raise his hand up to reveal a huge gash in his side.

"Hmm…" Quistis thought. "I'll just use some of the magic that I drew to heal you right up, good as new!"

Raijin nodded and told Quistis that she had his complete cooperation.

"Alright then," Quistis mumbled to herself as she stood up and braced herself. "Here it goes."

Quistis raised her hand up into the air and closed her eyes in concentration. Taking a deep breath, she summoned the cure magic as it began to collect in her hand, a bright blue orb of light formed. Sensing that it was time, Quistis brought her hand containing the shining orb down and shot the magic out towards Raijin. The ball of light broke into a million of streams of light, heading right for Raijin. They had just begun to wrap around him when there was a sudden earth-rattling sound, like an explosion. It shook the island and made Quistis lose her balance and focus. She stumbled to the ground and the blue healing light dispersed into thin air.

Raijin bent down to help Quistis to her feet. "Are ya okay?"

"Yeah," Quistis said as she shook the sand off of herself. "What was that?"

They both stared back at the forest, each wondering the same thing. Did something happen to Seifer and Zell? Quistis shivered. She had a horrible feeling….whether it was Zell, Seifer, or even Ellone, someone was in trouble.

Raijin sighed, "I think I better get back to Seifer, ya know,"

Quistis turned back to him with a smile, "Why don't you wait with me for Selphie and Irvine. They'll be here soon and we can wait for Ellone to get back. Then, we'll all go to the cave together and get off this island as quickly as possible! I can't wait to get home, can you?"

Raijin smiled back at her, "…home…"

______________________________________________________________________________________________


	10. Trapped Beneath the Rubble

**Chapter 9: Trapped Beneath the Rubble**

"Ughhh…" Seifer moaned as he pushed himself up off of the hard, rock ground with his bad hand. All around him it was as dark as a moonless night. He couldn't see a foot in front of his face. Seifer thought quickly and remembered his magic. Raising his good hand up into the air, he called upon the remains of his fire magic. He held the flaming ball high, lighting up the entire room. Ellone sat on the floor rubbing her head not even five feet from him. Seifer cast about the floor and found a large stick that he could light up as if it were a torch.

"Are you alright?" asked Seifer, holding his newly light stick high and offering to help Ellone up off of the floor.

"I'm okay," Ellone answered, accepting his hand to help pull herself up off of the ground. "Good thing you knew about this little cave, though." 

Seifer sighed as he looked at the wall of gravel, rock, and dirt that blocked the entrance…and only exit…to the little cavern that had sheltered Ellone and himself from the blast. "Yeah, we're alive, for now."

"Oh, I hope Zell's alright…" Ellone folded her arms across her chest and shuttered at the thought of what might have happened to her friend.

Seifer laughed, "You don't have to worry about that. After all, there's no food or water in this cavern, and we'll never be able to break through that wall. We'll be seeing ol' Zelly-boy sooner than you think."

"Please, don't say things like that," she whispered under her breath, obviously taken aback by Seifer's last comment.

"It's easier to deal with the truth than to have false hopes," Seifer shrugged.

Ellone opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of the idea. Instead, she decided that changing the subject to a happier, or at least more productive line of thought, might be a good place to start. 

"You're hurt," Ellone pointed to Seifer's hand. "Come over here and sit down beside me. I don't have any Cure magic, but I do have a first aid kit."

Seifer smiled, "A first aid kit? Where did you get a thing like that?!?!"

Ellone laughed, "Quisty gave it to me. Just in case I found you guys and you were injured really, really badly."

"That sound about right," Seifer nodded as he scanned the floor for twigs, leaves, and anything else that he could use to make a fire. Finally, he had collected a little pile situated in front of the oddly shaped rock that Ellone had picked out as a sort of "bench". Bending down, he held the torch to the pile until the flame caught.

"Alright," Seifer sat down on the rock next to Ellone. "Didn't you say something about a first aid kit?"

Ellone smiled and nodded. She picked up her knapsack and began fumbling through its contents. "Here it is!"

Seifer took the small white box from her hands and examined it with a look of disgust. "You weren't kidding, were you?"

"Give me that!" Ellone yelled defensively as she snatched back the kit. "Look, it's not that bad. It has all these cleaning sprays, bandages, and…WATER!!!"

"Water?" Seifer peered at the opened first aid box. 

Ellone smiled, "See, I told you. Things are looking better already."

"Where IS she?" Quistis mumbled to herself as she looked at her watch. "She's an hour late…."

"Hey, Sephie? Quisty?" Irvine poked his head out of the cockpit's door. "I don't think we should wait any longer."

Selphie sighed, "Ellone's just got held up….she'll be here."

"I hope nothing bad has happened to her," Quistis said, more to herself than to the others in the room. "Irvine's right, though. We can't stay here waiting for her."

"Alrighty then," Irvine opened the exit hatch and held out his hand to Selphie. "Ma'am, ladies first."

Irvine helped each girl in turn down the first steep step of the exit hatch that led to the boarding ramp, tipping his hat as they past, and finally getting off himself right after Raijin. 

"Now," Irvine rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "everybody ready?"

"Ready to go!" Selphie jumped up and down with excitement.

Quistis took one last look up and down the shoreline before nodding to Raijin to begin leading them to this cave that they'd been hearing about for the last hour and a half or so.

"It's this way, ya know," Raijin told the group proudly and began to march off into the forest with the three SeeD agent's following close behind. 

They turned this way and that, through high grass, plants, and swamp ground. Finally, Raijin stopped.

"Are we there?" Selphie, who had been trailing behind, asked the group when she reached the place where they were all sitting on a large fallen tree trunk. "Or are we just resting…"

"No, it's just over this trunk," Quistis answered just before gulping down a few mouthfuls of water. 

"Ugh," Selphie groaned, "I hate tree's."

Irvine laughed, "Don't worry, Sephie. I'll jus' throw ya over it."

"Sure you could do that," Selphie answered sarcastically. 

"Okay, you two," Quistis stood up and brushed herself off, "Let's get this over with."

Raijin jumped up and walked over to the fallen tree and grabbed a hold. In a few minutes, he was sitting on the top with Quistis right beside him. They lent a hand to Selphie and Irvine, making sure his girlfriend made it up all right, picked up the rear. Going down was much easier. They simply jumped. As they straightened their clothes and fixed their hair, Raijin pointed to the cave. It was right there, and went into the wall of an oddly shaped bluff. 

"Time's a wastin'," Irvine announced as he grabbed the nearest stick he could find, took out his lighter and made them a torch.

Quistis sighed, "What are we waiting for?"

"Ah, more crackers!" Ellone's face popped back into view after having been hidden in her backpack for the last five minutes.

"Seifer reached over with his newly bandaged hand and took the box from her, "That makes two boxes of crackers, two apples, one salami sandwich, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of cookies, and one small bags of chips."

"Poor Quisty, I can't believe I accidentally took her lunch bag along with my own," Ellone sighed.

Seifer cocked his eyebrows and smiled, "Lucky for us…if you hadn't, we couldn't even think about surviving in this prison. I'm sure if we make it, Quistis will be very pleased to know that her lunch fed me and kept me alive…."

Ellone giggled, "Oh yes, she'll be so happy, but not as happy as Squall."

"Squall?" Seifer hesitated, "How's he doin'?"

"Alright, I guess," Ellone shrugged. "He's had a little to much to handle lately, and us being trapped isn't going to help matters any."

Seifer chuckled, "He's goin' to kill me when we get out of here."

Ellone shook her head, "You're exaggerating."

"Just you wait and see..the minute we get out of here, Squall will hug you and then tell me how this was all my fault and how he's going to get to the bottom of this, blah, blah, blah,…." Seifer looked at the floor, obviously disgusted at the thought of the meeting.

"Squall's not that bad," Ellone but her arm around Seifer's shoulder in hopes of comforting him at least a little. "He'll understand, after all you did save me. It's true, he hasn't been in the best of moods lately."

"Yeah, he hasn't been fun at all since the trouble at Trabia started," said Seifer without thinking.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Ellone looked at him as if she didn't know that Seifer liked to tease Squall constantly.

"Nothing," Seifer answered defensively, but Ellone was still looking at him strangely so he began on a different topic. "And Rinoa…how was she?"

"She's fine," Ellone smiled. "She's been really happy lately."

"Yeah, people tend to get like that when they're going to have a baby," Seifer casually commented.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


	11. The Wall of Separation

Chapter 10: The Wall of Separation

Irvine, who was leading the eager search party with his torch, stopped dead in his tracks. "God almighty…"

Selphie plowed into Irvine's back and yelped in pain, "Ugh, my head! Why'd ya stop? Are we there?"

Irvine turned around to face his sweetheart and pulled her close to him. "Sorry, darlin'. You alright?"

Selphie smiled as Quistis, along with Raijin, came up behind her. "I'll live as long as you always hold me like this."

Quistis covered her mouth and giggled at the sight before you, "You two are at it again? We're on a search mission here, people!"

"Right you are, right you are," Irvine whispered under his breath.

Selphie gave her boyfriend one last squeeze and then let go. "So, shouldn't we get going again?"

Irvine looked at her with a sort of tortured misery. "Well, from what Raijin has told me, the 'chamber' Seifer and Zell were in is right there…."

Quistis, seeing the look in Irvine's eyes, had a feeling of what was coming.

"The ceiling has, umm, partly collapsed……," Irvine told his three companions in no more than a whisper.

In the moment that follow this statement, Selphie's face contorted in horror and Quistis gulped in fear. They both felt that there must be some horrible site that lay beyond the light of the torch.

Irvine allowed the bad news to sink in before continuing, "I want you ladies to stay here while we men go and take a look around……"

"Men??" Selphie screwed up her face critically. "What's that supposed to mean? Aren't me and Quisty just as STRONG as you and Raijin?"

Irvine sighed and took Selphie by the hand and sat her down on a rock. "Stay here, lil' missy. Just trust me. I'm sure we'll be right back with Zell and Seifer."

With that, Irvine lit the two girls a torch and then jerked his head at Raijin, indicating for him to go towards the darkened chamber that once stood as a refuge from the storm. 

"Alright, Raijin," Irvine coughed as dust that had been obviously upset in the cave-in invaded his lungs. "It doesn't look too good from here, but let's try to get in a bit further. Who knows, maybe they made it out before anything happened."

"Yeah, your probably right, ya know," Raijin responded weakly as he reached for the torch Irvine held before them. "I'll show ya where our fire was."

Irvine fell in behind him as they stumbled over rocks and boulders.

"Holy….." Irvine swore under his breath suddenly.

"Wha…?" Raijin turned to ask his follower what had happened, but the image in front of him made his mind go completely blank.

Zell was propped up against the far wall. Blood was smeared over his entire body and had a coat of dust and dirt embedded into the dried and gushing red liquid.

Irvine gulped and let out a deep breath. He walked towards the a strung body as his heart raced a million miles per hour. Irvine knew who it was because of the black tattoo along the side of the person's face, but still he didn't want to believe it. There was just so much blood that Irvine thought the man was dead.

"Is it….. Zell or Seifer," Raijin whispered to Irvine from the place he had first turned to see the body. He seemed to be frozen to the spot and could not bare to go and look for himself to find out who was smashed up against the rock wall.

Irvine sighed as he glanced back at Raijin. He couldn't stop. He just had to keep focused. Finally, in the minute that seemed to stretch out for an eternity he reached the wall. Taking off his hat, he crouched down by the figure.

"Hey there lil' buddy," Irvine spoke softly as he reached his shaking hand towards Zell's neck to take his pulse.

"Is he alive?" Raijin asked suddenly from over the cowboy's shoulder. It made Irvine jump and lose his balance so he accidentally jabbed the seemingly lifeless body.

"Aghh," moaned Zell in excruciating pain, "stop…..pokin'.."

"Zelly-boy!!!" Irvine smiled in delight. "I thought, well, I, I'm just so glad your alright, lil' buddy!"

Irvine, still grinning, turned to face the slightly less pale Raijin. "Quick, get Quisty. Zell's gonna need some cure magic and fast."

Raijin nodded vigorously and rounded on his feet.

Irvine watched him dash off with the only source of light. "Damn, now I can't even see. How the hell am I supposed to help?"

He groped his shirt for its pocket, and then grabbed himself a cigarette and lighter.

"Hold on, Zell. Help's on the way," Irvine said into the darkness before bringing his quivering hand with the cigarette in it to his mouth.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Qui – stis!" Raijin called as he tripped over the thresh hold of the cavern into the narrow tunnel.

Quistis flinched in surprise at the wide-eyed man who had suddenly appeared. "Raijin, what's the matter?"

"Where's Irvine?" Selphie jumped in looking concernedly into the darkness of the chamber behind Raijin.

"He's in there, ya know," Raijin told them.

"Yes, but why are you here?" Quistis asked him a little impatiently.

"Ummm.." Raijin stared at the two girls blankly.

"Raijin, WHY are YOU HERE?!" Selphie repeated after Quistis, making sure to pronounce every word individually.

"I left him with Zell, ya know," Raijin told them with a perplexed look upon his face. "Why'd ya ask?"

Selphie leaped for joy, "Zell, Zell, Zell, Zell, Ze-ll!!!"

Quistis raised her eyebrows and shook her head at the unbelievable display Selphie was performing by twirling and dancing around in complete happiness. 

"Ahem…." She cleaned her throat to gain her companion's attention. "Is Zell alright?"

Raijin, who had been smiling at the amusing scene Selphie had been staging before him, abruptly frowned and shuffled his feet as he remembered the horrible news he was to deliver.

Selphie and Quistis both saw that this response meant that there was actually some problem and the happiness drained away from their bodies, leaving two pale and worried expressions.

Raijin cast his eyes on the rocky dirt ground and mumbled the unpleasant news under his breath. He knew that no time should be wasted and that Zell needed to get help quickly, but he couldn't bring himself to make the two girls feel sad.

"Okay, Raijin," Quistis reached for the torch and with it in hand, began forward to the partly caved-in chamber. "I know it's bad so instead of telling us, just lead the way."

Selphie sighed as she obediently took her place beside Quistis. "Yeah, let's go. I can't stand anymore awkward silence or horrible news I can do nothing about."

"So Sephie, she's so crazy, she bounded into the ditch thinking it was some sort of natural land formation or something," Irvine paused and smiled at the memory, "but it was really a big Monchillaid's nesting spot. That thing was so mad, it chased us clear across Yali Island's shoreline, gnashing its teeth and flexing its claws the whole way."

Zell moaned again, making Irvine snap his head in the direction of the source of the sound.

"It's alright lil' buddy," Irvine made an attempt to comfort his injured friend, "Quisty's got some magic an' is gonna fix you right up. I know it's hard, but just try to forget about the pain."

Zell's eyes were closed and he did not answer. A handkerchief was wrapped over his forehead to keep the blood from blanketing his face, but that was all Irvine could really do for his friend.

Irvine sighed in frustration as he looked at the shadowy figure that leaned up against the cold rock wall. "Guess what? I got another crazy Sephie story that'll knock the socks off of ya! You see, we were at Trabia Garden when that strange disease broke out. Selphie had been giving a tour of the newly rebuilt and improved offices to some supervisors and vice presidents of some thing or another. Unexpectantly, the emergency code for complete lock down of the Garden rang out over the loudspeakers. I made a mad dash from the observatories to the offices because that was where my sweetheart was showin' those big shots around. When I finally reached her, I found the vice president and the others watching Sephie smear mud and stick plant leaves all over herself by ripping apart Trabia Garden's Headmaster's plants to shreds. I laughed so hard 'cause she mis…………"

"Irvine!" Quistis yelled out suddenly as she spotted the squatting cowboy on the floor.

Irvine, interrupted from his tale, looked up to see Quistis, holding a flaming torch while jogging towards him with Raijin and his girlfriend trailing not even a step behind.

"Come on over an' join the party," Irvine exclaimed sarcastically to the small band as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Oh my God!" Selphie gasped as she saw the bleeding body a strewn on the floor.

Quistis cringed at the sight. "He's still breathing……right?"

"Of course," Irvine reassured her. "All he needs is a cure….or two…or three."

"After Quisty healed me, I was fine, ya know," Raijin told the worry stricken Selphie in hopes of calming her down a bit.

"Right," Quistis gulped as she stepped forward, "let's do this."

Everyone backed up to give Quistis room as she took a deep breath and prepared herself to call upon her magic.

Quistis opened her arms wide and tilted her head up to face the ceiling of the enclosed space. With that lone motion, a blue orb bursted out of each of her hands, making her whole body glow in the shimmering rays.

"Makes me feel all good inside," Selphie whispered to her boyfriend as the blue light from the glowing orbs in her friend's hands consumed the whole cavern.

"I hope Zell feels the same," Irvine answered beneath his breath as he bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

Quistis had sweat dripping down her forehead as she concentrated on sending all her energy into casting the magic spell on Zell. The blue rays wrapped around him, stirring the life back in every cell of his body. She tried to keep focused, but suddenly stopped when Zell moaned louder than he had ever before. The blazing streams of light vanished as Quisty put her arms down.

"Zelly?" Selphie asked the shivering figure that laid face down on the floor quietly.

"You…..covered….mud," Zell chucked between gasps as he rolled over and looked at his weary but ecstatic friends.

"Glad to see your okay, Zelly-boy…. but I think your still a little out of it," Irvine said under his breath so only Zell could really pick out the tone of warning in it, "…delusional even…."

"ZELL!!" Selphie, ignoring the strange look that was passed between her boyfriend and Zell, galloped over to him in total bliss. "Your alive!"

Zell laughed good naturedly, "Right…alive. How..good it…is."

Irvine walked over and seated himself on the ground next to his mending companion. "Your breathing heavily, look tired, and have lost a ton of blood so you might not have any more open wounds, but I'm still puttin' you under sittin' arrest."

"Yup," Selphie pipped in, "no more adventures for you for a while!"

"Yeah," Raijin shuffled his feet, "but where's Seifer?"

Irvine frowned, "I….I don't know."

All the color drained out of Zell's face at the mention of Seifer. "I think …..I killed them."

______________________________________________________________________________________________


	12. Dead or Alive

Chapter 11: Dead or Alive

** **

Ellone coughed in surprise, "Rinoa??"

Seifer shrugged as he took a bite of his sandwich, "Yeah, she blabbed to me 'bout it one day. She just kept asking me how she was supposed to tell Squall. Would he be happy and excited? I actually laughed at that….Squall happy and excited…heheh. Anyways, it was so pathetic.."

"Wait a minute," Ellone waved her arms back and forth for him to stop. "Rinoa is really pregnant?"

"Of course, you didn't know?" Seifer rolled his eyes playfully. "Well, she is and she actually TOLD me so. Don't ask me why. Maybe because I'm not really into the whole 'friends' concept and she figured I wouldn't tell Squall or anyone else for that matter. When Cid ordered me to go check up on her while Squally-boy was away at physical therapy for his leg, I wasn't really paying attention and Rinoa just came out and.."

"And she told you," Elle looked at him skeptically, "that Squall and her are going to have a baby?"

"Hey," Seifer returned her look, "I'm already gonna get in trouble for tellin' you. I think you owe me at least your trust. After all, I did save your life."

Ellone laughed, "Riiight, but you wouldn't have had to if you had left Zell alone."

"THAT MANIAC!!" Seifer yelled accusingly. "He's the reason we're trapped in here together…."

"Am I that bad of company?" Ellone interrupted in an attempt to change subjects. She couldn't take another long, drawn out conversation about whose fault it was. What was done is done. Elle just wanted to let it go.

Seifer started at the question and it seemed to Ellone that he had turned a little pinkish. "I didn't say that…"

"Ohhhh," Ellone smiled, "So I'm not a completely horrible, annoying person to be around, like you?"

"I'm not THAT annoying…am I?" Seifer said defensively but a bit hurt.

Ellone pretended to consider what he had just said and then responded, "Well….I guess it's a kind of cute annoyingness.."

Seifer gently pushed her in a playful manner, "Face it. You gotta love me."

"Okay," Elle laughed, "But I'd really, really, really love ya if you traded half of your salami sandwich for half of my peanut butter and jelly one…."

Zell awoke suddenly calling out in horror.

"It's okay, Zell," Selphie turned toward her panting friend to reassure him, "It was just another bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Zell shook his head vigorously. "It may have been a dream now, but it really happened…"

Quistis looked up in alarm at the shivering figure propped up against the wall. "What really happened?"

"Yeah, lil' buddy. Tell us what is a botherin' you." Irvine coaxed. He wondered if it had something to do with Seifer. Promising Selphie to leave the injured Zell alone had proved to be quite a challenge, considering Irvine had searched the cave thoroughly with not even an idea where Seifer might be….dead or alive.

Zell began to tremble as sweat slowly dripped down his forehead. He had begun to develop a fever but shivered at the true image of events that had occurred. 

"I didn't mean….I wasn't thinking," Zell mumbled in a hazy voice, "Oh Elle, Elle.."

"Hey!" Selphie fell to her knees beside Zell, "Ellone was here!?"

All Zell could bring himself to do was nod yes.

"Zell, this is really important," Quistis told him urgently. "Were Seifer and Ellone in this cavern when the ceiling fell?"

Zell looked away and again nodded yes. His eyes became watery and he quickly wiped his tears away before any of his companions could see. He had to tell them. "I fired…rocks fell…the force sent me flying….Seifer was with Elle…"

"Okay," Irvine looked sympathetically at Zell. "Seifer and, and Elle, were there and they…."

"That's the thing. I don't really know…" Zell sighed miserably. "They jumped…"

A thread of hope strengthened Quistis, "Where, Zell. Tell us where."

Zell stiffened as he thought it over. "They, no, no, wait…maybe…"

He stumbled to his feet and staggered across the room.

"Zell! Sit down!" Selphie yelped, stunned he could even find the energy to get up.

""It was, a little….cave inside a cavern.." Zell murmured to the newly formed wall of rock. "He leaped…why? Oh god…."

"Alright, alright," Ellone threw her arms up into the air as if surrendering, "Rinoa may be pregnant."

"May?" Seifer looked at her doubtfully.

Ellone sighed. "Well, it wouldn't be a bad thing if she WAS….."

"I never said that," Seifer stated defensively. "I mean babies can be sort of fun sometimes."

Ellone cocked one of her eyebrows, "Sort of? I think you really love babies. Remember when Matron brought little Joy in? As I recall, you were inseparable.."

"Hey," interrupted Seifer, "She just liked ME, and who wouldn't?"

"Your so cute," Ellone laughed. "Just like when you were younger. Do you remember the time you found that troll!"

"It was not a troll!" Seifer stated. "It was a monster, a really scary monster." 

"Yeah," Ellone nodded sarcastically, "My mistake. Your right, a 'scary' monster the size of a dog that lived in a hut making bracelets and singing children's songs.."

"Those songs were meant to lure unsuspecting kids up there so he could eat them and the bracelets, I hate to tell you, but they were made of bones…." Seifer commented matter-of-factly.

Ellone just stared at him critically.

"So…I might have made a mistake," Seifer shrugged reluctantly. "If my memory serves me right, you thought Squall had rabies on my birthday. You cried 'til I dragged Squall out of bed, waking him from some sort of nightmare and wiping the sweat and drool off his face. His eyes were all bloodshot from crying about not having any parents…"

"I was really worried," Ellone countered. "Poor little Squall…he always was a loner because he thought he was cursed…"

"We all did…" Seifer whispered.

Ellone sighed, "Yeah, but you were always there to help me. Squall was almost always alone…he thought if someone loved him, something would happen to that person…"

"If you weren't there, I'd have been lost!" Seifer smiled. "You were my only friend."

"Oh, that's just because I was a girl and you didn't think it was right to torture me," Elle laughed. "Now Squall, Irvine, and Zell. Boy, you really gave it to them!!"

"What?" Seifer looked at her innocently, "Me?"

Ellone shook her head in amazement, "You'll never change. Still too ashamed to show everyone how nice you CAN be, eh?"

"Hey," Seifer shrugged, "You're the only one who ever deserved my niceness. Respect is another thing, though. Squall and I have always had this kind of understanding…"

"Yup," Elle yawned, "I know. You two have this weird eye connection."

Seifer laughed, "Oh yeah? You've been watching us, then?"

"Of course," Ellone answered, "You are my favorite people. I wouldn't have been happy at the orphanage without either one of you. Squall as my 'family' and you as my friend or 'knight' as you used to say."

Squall sighed as he reached over, taking Ellone's hand in his own. "Did I mention how sorry I am?"

"For what?" Elle asked baffled.

"Getting you trapped in here," Seifer answered, "provoking Zell, annoying you, coming out to this island in the first place, worrying you….."

"Hold on," Elle cut in, "I'm sorry, too. I must have made you think that you needed to get me some special gift because you weren't good enough by yourself…"

Seifer grinned, "THAT's why you're sorry? In that case, I now have to grovel for forgiveness and cut off my hand in sacrifice because if your apologizing for not telling me you didn't want a present, I'm in trouble…."


	13. The Obligations of a Headmaster

Chapter 12: The Obligations of a Headmaster

** **

A light knock, barely audible, came from outside of the office entrance.

"Squall?" asked Rinoa in a small voice as she pushed the door opened a crack and popped her head inside the room.

Squall glanced up from his paperwork and nodded for his wife to enter. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's WRONG," Rinoa told him with a smile as she took a seat in one of the fine leather chairs opposite his desk. "I just need to talk to you about something important…."

Squall leaned back and looked seriously at the love of his life. A talk? That did NOT sound like anything good to him. "Well, you've got my full attention."

Rinoa smiled, "Okay, well, I, umm….."

At that moment, the black phone on Squall's desk began to ring. The two of them just stared at each other for a minute until Squall finally sighed. "I'm, I'm so sorry. I don't need to get it. We'll just let it ring, you've got my full attention, remember?"

With this said, it was Rinoa's turn to smile and sigh. "What if it's about Zell? You're not going to be able to concentrate on what I have to say anyway. Please, just answer the phone, will you?"

Squall still stared reluctantly at his wife.

"Don't look so guilty. You didn't MAKE the phone ring. Come on, pick it up!" Rinoa urged.

That was all the prodding Squall needed.

"Hello? This is Headmaster Squall Leonhart at Balamb Garden."

"Squa-alll!!!! Hey, it's me!!"

Squall grinned, "Hey, Selphie. What's the news?"

"Oh, well, we just happened to run across some unexpected information…" Selphie giggled. "Irvine wants to talk to you about it so hold on a sec, okay?"

"Whatever…" Squall mumbled. He didn't have time right now for Selphie's games. After all, he was a little worried by Rinoa's sudden need to have a 'talk' with him, and he was still unaware of Zell's whereabouts. 

"Hello?" Zell asked shyly into the cell phone as Selphie jammed it into his hand.

Squall's jaw dropped and he froze in utter shock. He tried to respond, but his voice seemed to be lost. With nothing else to do, he finally held the phone out to Rinoa and after she took in, Squall sunk down in his chair in disbelief.

Rinoa put the phone up to her ear and listened to the person on the other line apparently arguing with the people around him.

"Leave me alone, Irvine! No I don't know what happened. He's just not there 'cause…."

"Zell? Is that you?" Rinoa interrupted.

"Hey! Rinoa!" Zell answered excitedly, "It's me alright. I can't believe I'm really talkin' to ya!!"

"Oh, Zell! I missed you sooo much!" Rinoa told him as she jumped up and down in the office, shaking the entire room. "How are you? You're not hurt, right?"

Zell sighed, "Just a little banged up, that's all, but how's Squall? He didn't even say anything to me…..is he really mad or something?"

Rinoa laughed, "Nope. Squall was just in shock I guess. He's still just sitting there…staring at me. Hold on a minute, okay?"

"Sure," Zell answered with out thinking. He was just so glad to hear Rinoa's voice again that he would have agreed with anything she said.

"Don't go anywhere." Rinoa commanded and then carefully set the phone down. "Squall? You alright?"

Squall, who had previously been staring blankly at his hands, looked into Rinoa's eyes and smiled, "It's Zell."

"Yes it is." Rinoa responded cheerfully, "Don't you want to talk to him? He thinks you're mad at him."

Squall stood up and walked over to his wife. He scooped her into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. "This is the beginning of the end."

Rinoa grinned, "Doesn't that make you all happy inside?"

Squall nodded as he finally let go of Rinoa and picked up the phone. "Zell?"

"Hey!" Zell yelped happily. "It's good to hear your voice again Squall."

"Yours, too." Squall commented without hesitation. "We've all missed you."

"Yeah, well, I am one of a kind.." Zell boasted jokingly with his friend. "I mean you must'uv been bored to death without me, right?"

"Of course," Squall chuckled. "But, seriously, where are you?"

"Okay, SERIOUSLY," Zell began, "we're on Naoki Island."

"So when are you guys going to arrive back here?" Squall asked.

"Well, ummm, we're not," Zell told his anxious friend.

Squall stopped in mid thought, "You're not?"

"No…" Zell began to explain uneasily, "We're experiencing a little problem….could you just come down here yourself?"

"What did you guys do?" Squall questioned tensely. 

"It wasn't my fault!!" Zell bursted out. 

Suddenly, Squall heard a new voice on the other end of the phone. 

"Squall? It's me, Irvine. Raijin's gonna meet ya down on the northern shore of Naoki Island, right by a little cove. You can't miss it. Well, we'll see ya soon."

Irvine then proceeded to abruptly hang up on the confused Squall.

Squall reluctantly placed the phone down and looked up at Rinoa, who was still prancing around the office before him. "That was…interesting…."

"What?" Rinoa stopped twirling to face her husband. "When are we going to see Zell?"

Squall shrugged, "Something's happened so they asked me to meet them on Naoki Island…are you coming?"

"Ummm.." Rinoa bit her lower lip, "I really want to…"

"Alright then," Squall reached over, grabbed Rinoa's hand, and started to lead her out of the office, "We just have to pack and find a plane. Easy enough…we'll see Zell in no time…."

Cid put the phone back down on the receiver and sighed. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't make it any easier. Reluctantly, he pushed the button and activated the intercom in order to page Helen Martinez to his office.

It was no more than two minutes before the girl with a pigtail stumbled clumsily into his newly constructed office.

"You…wanted to see me?" Helen asked shyly as she closed the door behind her.

Cid smiled, "Yes, I did. Why don't you have a seat so we can discuss a matter concerning Zell Dincht."

"Oh," Helen stared into the retired headmaster's eyes for any sign if this was good or bad news. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course," Cid waved her into the chair facing his desk. "I'm very pleased to have the honor to tell you that Zell is safe and sound. As a matter of fact, I just finished talking to him on the phone before you arrived."

She sighed in relief, "So is he hurt?"

Cid shrugged, "I didn't get the specifics, but I imagine his pretty banged up after all he's been through."

Helen nodded, "What do you need me to do?"

"Straight to the point," Cid grinned, "I like that. Anyway, I'm sending you to Naoki Island with a select group of engineers and construction workers for the digging…"

"Digging?" Helen questioned nervously.

Cid looked down at his desk, "Zell, along with Seifer Almasy and Ellone…"

"Squall's Ellone." Helen stated in understanding.

"The one and only," Cid responded wearily. "So Zell and the others were apparently involved in a cave in. Zell came out alright, but…"

Helen looked thoughtfully into Cid's eyes, "No need to say anymore on the subject. I'll be glad to go as a SeeD to oversee the work and use my advanced healing powers to help out anyway I can."

Cid smiled and nodded his thanks.

"Okay," she forced a smile as she stood up and walked over to the door, "I'll take care of it."

With that she was gone and Cid was left alone with his thoughts. He pushed himself to his feet and turned towards the window. He watched the loading docks where workers scrambled to get boxes of the harvested Phlemnesium Herb into airships. For the last two days, Cid had been overseeing the shipping of this important medical ingredient. Thankfully, his job here was now almost over. Trabia Garden's plague, now named West Disease, was under control credited to Balamb Garden's help.

"Too bad good news is always attached to bad news," Cid mumbled to himself as he thought about what Irvine had explained to him over the phone. Their plan was to get Squall to Naoki Island before telling him about Ellone and Seifer, but Cid had a feeling no matter what they did, something was going to give. 

Cid turned away from the window and sat back down at his desk. "I wonder how much luck we have left…."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


	14. Lending Some Assistance

Chapter 13: Lending Some Assistance

The drone of the engine drowned out all of Helen Martinez's thoughts. Finally, she gave up on trying and allowed herself to drift off. As she slept, her mind became absorbed in dreams of Zell, whom she had been taken with ever since she had seen him. 

"Excuse me, miss?" asked a meek, young boy as he lightly tapped the sleeping girl on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" Helen mumbled drowsily as she blinked away her dreams and yawned.

"I'm sorry to wake you, miss, but we've landed," explained the apologetic boy. As Helen nodded and stood up, she recognized the messenger as a construction worker named Jaimen who had at first seemed too young to be on such an important mission, but after watching him interact with the older members of the team, Helen had understood why Cid had chosen the young boy. Jaimen, while lacking in experience, was smart, determined, and possessed an almost eerie resemblance to Rinoa Leonhart.

"Are you coming?" Jaimen called back at the stock-still girl from the airship's exit.

Helen shook away her thoughts and walked towards the door. Jaimen extended his hand with a peculiar smile to help Helen down the steps. She hesitated for a moment, but then smiled back and accepted the help. 

"Helen!" Zell called from the beach as he watched her descend down the steps of the plane. He began to jog towards her, grimacing at the pain in his side but not caring to stop.

Helen let go of Jaimen's hand and gasped at the sight before her. Jaimen laughed and looked at her, "Yup, Zell looks pretty good from where I'm standing, too."

Helen joined in the laughter and started at a jog herself toward the zigzagging and stumbling boy. Time seemed to freeze, the background faded away, and no sound could be heard except the racing beat of her heart as she reached Zell and fell into his arms.

"Hey," Zell wrapped his arms even tighter around her and kissed her gently on the forehead, "I missed you."

Helen loosened her grip and back away. "Please don't do that again. I was so worried."

Zell sighed as he reached out his hand to brush the wind blown hair out of his girl's face, "I'm sorry and I swear to you it'll never happen again. After the hell I've been through, you couldn't PAY me to spend another hour in the some room as Seifer…"

Helen noticed the shake in Zell's voice as he mentioned that name. It wasn't a kind of anger or annoyance, but sadness as if Zell really wished being stuck with Seifer would be a possibility in the future…..if only Seifer survived.

"Hey guys," Jaimen came walking up behind Helen, "What's with the long faces?"

"Jay! Man, what are you doing here?" Zell inquired, astonished to be seeing his long time friend in the flesh.

Jay grinned as he extended his hand for a seemingly "secret" handshake. "Been sent to check on the wreck, but it's all good 'cause I brought along some very nice stuff…."

Zell put his arm around Helen's shoulder and looked quizzically at Jay, "Stuff, eh?"

"Yup," Jaimen nodded, "This stuff is very hush-hush."

Zell began to walk with Helen back towards the plane and the crew, "If you're not going to tell us, you can just go home, Jaimen."

"Hey! Wait up!" Jay called as he ran to his leaving friends, "I'll tell you. Geez, can't you take a joke anymore Zell?"

Helen stifled a laugh. "I saw the big box of yours they loaded onto the plane. It looked a little…unusual, although I doubt it has the answer to all our problems locked away in it."

"Ahh, but you're wrong." Jay pronounced proudly. "I brought a ton of equipment, especially one idea derived from our childhood together Zell."

"Really?" Zell asked with a bit of curiosity. "What is it?"

"Well, my friends, it is of course…. TOP SECRET!" Jay ducked Zell's playful swing and ran off laughing.

"He's so weird," Zell commented as they watched Jaimen reach the plane only to be yelled at by Quistis for not helping with the unloading.

Helen smiled and kissed Zell on the cheek, "Sound's like someone else I know."

"Headmaster Squall, we're glad to have you here." 

"..Thanks…" Squall replied with a bit of confusion. "Who are you?"

"I'm Krupt Quill, lead construction advisor," explained the man confidently. "Quistis Trepe has asked me to tell you about the situation as we are on our way to the area in question."

Squall ran his hand through his hair, "This 'situation' is so important that nobody from SeeD could come and fill me in themselves?"

The man hesitated, "Well, umm….I…"

"I'm here, ya know," Raijin piped in. "They sent me."

Squall sighed as he looked around him at the small group of four men. It was hardly the welcoming he was expecting. After all, Zell was supposedly safe. Why wasn't everyone here to be taken back to Balamb Garden? 

"It was nice of you to come and greet us Raijin," Rinoa smiled warmly as she took Squall by the arm. "Why don't you lead the way? We're both anxious to see everyone."

"Jus' follow me, ya know," Raijin told them proudly before he turned and began to march into the forest.

"Alright, Quill," Squall began to walk behind Raijin, "Tell me everything you know."

Seifer stared in every direction but only saw the same exact thing: rock. Rock floor, rock ceiling, rock walls. It made him sick. The only thing in the entire room worth looking at was Ellone. She looked so peaceful and pretty lying on the floor sleeping. He wished he had a pillow to make the hard ground more comfortable for her, but he didn't. Instead he crouched down over her and lightly brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her delicate ear.

"Don't worry," Seifer whispered as he took off his gray overcoat and laid it over the sleeping girl, "I'll get us out of this."

Seifer sighed and stroked Ellone's hair as he listened to her even breathing that seemed to convince him that everything would turn out for the best. 

_Bang!_

Out of nowhere, a loud boom echoed through the small side cavern. Ellone shot up in terror and Seifer, not being able to move out of the way quickly enough because of his lost balance, knocked his head with the recently awoken girl's.

"I, I,….." Seifer stuttered and blushed as he pushed himself up off of the ground while rubbing his forehead. "Sorry.."

Ellone just reached out her hand in order to pull herself up using Seifer as a sort of brace. "I'm alright, just another bump. But what was that noise?"

"I think it came from the other side of this wall," Seifer reasoned as he walked over to the far side of the room. "Maybe some more of the ceiling collapsed….."

_Bang!_

_ _

The entire ground shook again and Ellone stumbled backward.

"Whoa," Seifer exclaimed as he swooped Elle into his arms and leaned up against a wall to brace them from the impact. "What the hell is going on out there?"

"That's what I'd like to know…" Ellone responded as she peered over her companion's shoulder at the trembling walls. She turned her gaze up ward as dust and small pebbles began to fall. A seemingly continuous pattern of thumps and pangs started in an almost predictable manner. It was as if a machine of some sort was….

Seifer coughed, breaking into Elle's train of thought. He tried unsuccessfully to wave the dust particles away from his face but only stirred up more. Ellone smiled at the sight before her. Seifer was swatting the air in front of his face as if he saw some invisible bugs. She realized that she just loved spending time with him, even if that meant being trapped in a small, dank, and dusty cavern. Elle saw how good he really was, how kind, how caring, how sweet……….

"Hello? Elle? Are you listening to me?" Seifer asked.

Immediately, she was snapped back into the present and her face turned a light pink in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

Seifer grinned, "The question is what were YOU thinking about?"

Ellone raised one eyebrow playfully, "Hmmm, that's for me to know and you never, ever find out…."

Seifer grinned even more widely and unexpectantly lunged forward, grabbing her around the waist. He pulled her to the floor and began to tickle her endlessly. "Tell me."

"Nev….ver.." Ellone managed to squeak out between gasps and laughs. "Sto….op….Sei….fe…er…."

"Okay," Seifer agreed as he laid down beside Elle, panting for breath. "Let's both just rest a minute….we can pretend to be able to see the stars…"

Their deep breaths fell in place with the repeating pangs echoing through the little cavern as they both stared up on their backs at the stone and dirt ceiling.

"It doesn't seem like its going to stop and time soon…." Ellone commented quietly as she listened enviously to the sound coming from the outside.

"Nope," Seifer replied as he placed his arm around Elle and drew her closer to him in hopes of comforting her. "So stop worrying, alright?"

"Oh, I'm not worried," Ellone explained as she rolled over on her stomach and leaned her chin on Seifer's chest so they could talk face to face. "After all, I've got this friend, the best of friends, who'll take care of me."

"Yeah," Seifer responded as he reached up his hand to gently sweep the hair out of Ellone's eyes, which were a deep brown. As Seifer looked into them, he got lost and realized that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. "But Squall's not here so I guess I'll just have to do."

Ellone sighed and placed her head down on his chest as a single tear streaked down her face. "If I had one wish, I'd wish that we would find out it's him out there making all that noise…."

Seifer wrapped his arms tightly around her and closed his eyes. 

_So would I………if anyone could help us, save us, it's got to be you, Squall, so hurry…………please hurry……_

_ _

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


	15. A Shining Ray of Hope

Chapter 14: A Shining Ray of Hope

** **

Selphie fidgeted uncomfortably on the log as the hot sun beated down upon her. Unfortunately, it was not the heat that was bothering her and as she glanced around, she saw the others were equally troubled.

"How did this happen?" Squall questioned the group angrily, not actually wanting a response. "How could you have fallen ASLEEP, Zell?"

Zell turned his eyes to the ground at the rebuffle. "I'm sorry….I screwed up.."

"Sorry…." Squall repeated without emotion. His eyes were ice, his attitude separated, and his mind blank. "I should put you on suspension."

"SQUALL!!" Rinoa cried out in disbelief. "No one meant for this to happen, especially not Zell!"

"That's right," Irvine stepped in, "It was a careless mistake, one I'm sure as hell Zell regrets."

"We're all worried about Elle and Seifer," Quistis added with a note of sadness in her voice as if it was her fault.

"Seifer?" Squall's eyes flickered with anger. "I can't believe what he's done either…If anything happens to her….."

"Squall," Rinoa warned as she folded her arms across hr chest. "Don't say anything you'll regret and have a little faith, okay?"

Squall took a step back and looked at the people before him. He saw a mix of worry, guilt, sadness, and hopefulness in their faces, but when he laid his sight on Zell, he froze. Zell's whole body was shaking. His face was pale and his eyes, which Squall only caught a glimce of before they were turned to the ground, were filled with pain.

Squall sighed. He was torturing his friend over something Zell could do nothing about. "Zell…."

Zell didn't move.

Squall reached his hand out towards his sitting friend and placed it on his shoulder. "I didn't mean that."

Zell looked up at Squall with a weak smile. "Yeah, you did. And it's true. It's all my fault. If she, if she dies…I'll be the cause… she was my friend and I…" 

Squall opened his mouth to protest, but Zell just shook his head and shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "It's all my fault…"

"Yo everybody, break out the party music!" Interrupted a loud voice coming from the darkness of the cave. Suddenly, Jaimen emerged, grinning widely with a hard hat in his hand. "Wipe those frowns off your faces, good times are on their way!"

"JAY!!" Rinoa squealed with delight as she jumped towards him, embracing him in a tight hug. "What are you doing here, cuz?!"

Jay ran a hand through his hair. "Lookin' good for all the girls," he responded, winking at Selphie and Helen.

Rinoa pushed her cousin playfully, "Hey, I'd watch who your flirting with. Irvine and Zell could get offended…."

"Right, right, right," Jay jumped up in excitement, eyes shining and mouth smiling, "but it's the cave! _Mertinan_ did it! I was sooo right with my theory of collapsing objects, hollow rocks fall from hollow spaces making hollow caverns."

Squall listened intently as Jaimen rambled on, but still didn't gasp what the young man was trying to say, "Whatever…..Just say it Jaimen."

Jay stopped in mid sentence, "What I mean, Squall, is that Ellone and Seifer have been trapped in a HOLLOW cavern, meaning that they were not buried alive. We also detected movement of some kind."

Now it was Selphie's turn to leap up and down, "They're alright!! They're alright!! La la la la laaaa!!!"

Irvine grabbed her from behind around the waist and kissed her. "When will they be out then Jay?"

Jay shrugged, "Somewhere between four to six more hours."

Quistis hooked her arm with Jay's, "I want to see and know EVERYTHING about this _Mertinan_ machine!"

As Quistis led their hero away into the darkness, the others smiled widely in relief and joy. One by one they filed down into the cave.

Squall looked behind him as the wind brought peaces of conversation to his ears to see Helen and Zell hugging. Zell's face was wet with tears and he seemed to be saying something between soft sobs. 

Squall turned as the wind whispered in his ear……. 

"_I'm not a murderer, I'm not a murderer_."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"How long?"

"Four hours and thirty-seven minutes."

Ellone let out a deep breath, "If you try, you can make out little songs out of all the clinks…"

Seifer ran a head through his hair, "We've been hearing it so long, it all just sounds like a blaring ring to me."

Ellone slid down the wall and seated herself next to the other cave captive. She picked up his arm and placed it across her shoulders, snuggling up to his chest for warmth. "It's cold."

Seifer hugged her closer to him, trying to make them both warmer. "Well, how about we do something. It'll keep our minds off the cold."

Ellone smiled. Seifer had remained hopeful for her. He told jokes, reassured her, and comforted her. Seifer had become a pillar for Ellone to rest on. "You want to play a game?"

"If you can think of one, why not?" he shrugged.

"Ummm…." Elle raised her eyebrows in thought. "Oh, I know!!"

"Go ahead." Seifer told her with a shiver.

"Well," Ellone sat up, "The first person will ask a question and the next person has to answer truthfully. If someone refuses to answer they have to give the other something of theirs and they get asked another question."

Seifer looked at her skeptically, "You want to play that?"

"Please?" she pleaded. "After all, what else is there?"

Reluctantly, he nodded his agreement.

"Okay, me first!" Elle smiled. "What or Who is Ians?"

Seifer's jaw dropped and he sprung up in shock. "Where did you hear that!?"

"You told me," she shrugged, "…or mumbled it during your sleep…..but still! You HAVE to answer."

Seifer quickly glanced around the room for some sort of a distraction, but came up with nothing. There was no way he was going to get out of this and he didn't want to be a wimp and chicken out.

"Alright…..Ians is, err, I mean WAS my duck," admitted Seifer.

Ellone tilted her head slightly, "Your duck?"

Seifer avoided her eyes as he nodded, "A kind of stuffed…toy…"

Ellone brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, "You had a stuffed animal?"

Defensively, Seifer countered, "Ians is NOT a stuffed animal. He's a Gufta Warrior who fought evil darkness demons until an evil sorceress named Morgaina cursed him. From that day forth he was trapped in a duck form, that's all. I was the only one he could talk to…"

Ellone's laughs bursted out, filling the room. "You talked to your stuffed animals? Did they all have stories? Wait, I remember now. How about that dog you always carried around with you. Bloopers, was it? And Squall cut off its tail, and you said it had feelings and cut off a lock of Squall's hair in retaliation?"

Seifer blushed in embarrassment and tried to change the subject, suppressing chuckles of the memory of the bald spot on Squall he had 'accidentally' made with a knife. "Now it's my turn so if you could stop laughing for just a second, I'll ask MY question."

Trying to control her self, Ellone gestured for Seifer to go ahead.

"Alright," Seifer's eyes lit up, "When Squall…."

"Nope!" Elle cut in, "I'm not answering that!"

"But I didn't even finish…" Seifer began.

"I said no," Ellone smiled, "It's an unfair question, so you're disqualified. I get to ask another one now instead."

Seifer was bewildered and remained motionless with confusing. "Wha….?"

"Now," Ellone jumped in, "Why do you always do favors for me? Why are you so nice and caring towards me? Why me?"

Seifer froze and Ellone knew her plan had worked. She had suspected that Seifer would ask an awkward question about Squall so she had planned to counter with an equally hard question to answer for Seifer. It was a trick for which he fell. Anyway, she really was interested in knowing why he acted as he did around her….

"Here." Seifer extended a closed first toward Elle. Opening his fingers, a silver ring with a Latin inscription on it was revealed. Ellone reached over and took the ring into her hand, turning it over and examining it thoroughly. "Keep it."

Ellone lifted her head to his in surprise. "I can't take this from you. It was just a game and this is important to you…it was from your parents…I've never seen you without it…"

Seifer sighed, "I'm not giving it to you because of the game, it's because I want to. You're good-hearted, kind, fun to be with, and beautiful. I have always admired you."

Ellone who was now standing facing Seifer placed the ring on her finger, "What does the inscription say?"

Seifer stared into her eyes, "Thy light shines brighter with thee here. Thee hast saved mine with thy love. I will remember. Always."

As those words left his lips, Seifer's brain stopped along with his heart. What was he saying? What was he doing? But looking into her eyes, deep down he knew. And so did she.

Ellone smiled and whispered, "I think I love you, too."

With that, she leaned forward and kissed him, gently on the lips. He in turn pulled her to him and kissed her back with a fire of fervor she had never felt either for or from anyone before. They stood there locked together in an embrace neither of them wanted to end as the sound of drills and shovels clinked and banged in the background. It was their only reminder of the outside world, of reality, of Squall…… 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

** **


	16. The Other Side

Chapter 15: The Other Side

** **

"Ughhh," Jay moaned as the digging rig, _Titan_, came to an expected, but still frustrating, lurching stop.

This new machine, derived from ideas Zell and Jaimen came up with during their childhood play dates like the _Mertinan_, was a time saver. It contained one large drill, two shoveling cranes, a wreck ball, and it also shot explosives. _Titan_ was efficient and fast, compared to doing a job like this manually. Unfortunately, it was a mere "sketch" or test machine, which meant it still had some kinks to be worked out. Now, it was nothing more than junk. Jay had pushed his invention to the limit, racing against time. Titan couldn't take the pressure and its motor broke down. There was nothing Jaimen could do.

"Why has the machine stopped?" Squall's commanding voice came from over Jaimen's shoulder.

Jay shook his head as he turned to face the man, "Technical difficulties…."

"Whatever," Squall shrugged, cutting off any explanation Jay was about to give. "Fix it now. I want to hear those machines working again within the next fifteen minutes."

Jay stared befuddled at the back of Squall's head as he walked away as abruptly as he had come. Finally, Jay tore his gaze from Squall and back to the _Titan_. Examining the hole, how much rock was left, and where the pillars that were holding up the little cavern's roof were located, left Jaimen with one conclusion: Pick up a shove and dig.

Taking out a saw from his toolbox, Jay went towards the _Titan_ and sighed. "Sorry, but I have to do this to you, man."

With out another word, the saw was brought down upon the crane. Jay grimaced as shreds of the metal were sliced off and flew to the ground like ribbons of silver. Finally, he had cut half way through the pole and, bracing himself, Jay snapped off the shovel extension.

"What are you doing?" Zell came up from behind, pure astonishment in his voice. "Did I just see you break off a piece of your machine or have I gone crazy?"

"I'm the one who's gone crazy," Jaimen forced a weak smile, but the anguish was clearly shown on his face. He had put his time, his sweat, and his blood into the making of all his machines. They were each unique, and to destroy one….

Zell frowned as Jay pushed the shovel into his hand. "What's this for?"

Jay ran a hand through his hair, "Digging."

Zell remained standing there as his friend went over to the _Mertinan_ and started the loud machine up again. With one last look at the data, Jaimen shut down the device and walked back over to Zell. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Zell responded immediately.

"The _Titan_ is as good as garbage…motor trouble…so I need someone to crawl into the drill hole and continue to dig," Jay told his friend with a ting of weariness in his voice, "I would have to communicate with that person through ear transmition where it was safe to dig so the ceiling wouldn't collapse. I need someone who will listen, and that's you."

Zell gasped the shovel a little more firmly, "I'd be happy to help."

"Good," Jay smiled genuinely at the good news. "Let's get you geared up."

"So Rinoa, can I get you anything?" Quistis asked as she smoothed out her dress and stood up.

"I'm fine, Quisty!" Rinoa laughed. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

Selphie smiled, "We're your friends, we know when there is something going on…."

Quistis nodded, "You have been getting sick lately, especially in the morning."

"That's true," Rinoa flashed them a wide smile, placing her hand unknowingly on her stomach. "But until Squall and I have talked about it, I'm not telling you anything."

"I think it would be wonderful," Selphie jumped up giddily, "Can you imaging a little Squall…"

"Whoa!" Irvine exclaimed as he walked into the room, interrupting Selphie's last sentence. "I can just about take one Squall. Rinoa, I'm praying for a girl, Darlin'. An angel like yourself, so to speak."

"Aww," Selphie squinched up her nose, "Your so cute."

Irvine took off his hat and blushed slightly, "That's what I've been saying about you, Lil' Lovely."

"Alright you two," Quistis laughed, "we know that you love each other. So what's up Irvine? Weren't you supposed to be distracting Zell from thinking about Elle and Seifer?"

"Yes ma'am, that is correct," Irvine nodded, "But since the _Titan_ broke down, Jay-the-Man has enlisted our lil' buddy as the sole digger in operation: Save Ellone, Kill Seifer. He's down there shovelin' away as we speak, so's I came up to this here hill top in order to take in the view with you ladies."

Rinoa sighed as she turned her head towards the ocean. "It is beautiful."

"Yessiree," Irvine nodded, "What a view…"

The wind whistled as it swept around the trees, rustling the leaves in all directions. He stood alone on the edge of the ridge, motionless except for his brown hair that was carelessly blowing in the northern wind. He was looking down at where his friends resided while they laughed and talked happily. Sighing heavily, he stepped back, slowly retreating to the tree-lined path that led to the cave.

"Squall?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to confront the person who had just spoken his name but no one was in sight. Shaking his head, Squall turned again and began to follow the path. 

_It was just the wind._ Squall rationalized to himself as he continued along back to the cave where he wanted to check on Jay's progress and see if the machines were working again.

"Squall?"

This time Squall spun sharply on his heals to face the owner of the voice that seemed to be coming from right behind him. Still, no one was there.

"Rinoa?" Squall called out into the surrounding trees uncertainly. He shook his head as only the far off howl of the wind returned his call. "I really need to get some sleep.."

With a sigh, Squall turned back to the path for the third time that led to the cave, but instead he faced a girl. In the split second their eyes met, Squall could see that this girl had pale skin, hollow eyes, and tattered clothing with blotches of dark red splattered all over her. Before Squall could even react, he was falling. To Squall, it seemed as if the whirling darkness would go on forever. The black consumed him, pushing and pulling in all directions at the same time, until every thing stopped.

Squall opened his eyes and saw that the bright sun was high in the sky. Moving his vision down more, he realized that he was standing in the middle of a field. The high yellow grass shone like a river as the wind blew it all at once and the smell of wild flowers crept to Squall from the ground. No trees could be found as Squall spun around only to face the same sight of a never-ending field, stretching out beyond the horizon.

_Where am I? _Squall asked himself as he looked around in disbelief. He rubbed his temples as he suddenly became aware of a shockingly painful headache that seemed to have come from out of the blue.

"Squall!"

A bit adhesively, Squall twisted around at his name to find himself about an arm's length away from the girl except her clothes were no longer ripped and her face was alive with shining eyes and a warm smile.

"Ellone?" Squall whispered softly.

"Come on, silly. You're going to be too late!" the figure answered back just before turning and starting to run off into the golden yellow field.

"Wait!" Squall yelled but she kept on going without even hesitating at his call. He began to run after Ellone as fast as his feet would carry him. "Stop, Sis!"

Squall was breathing heavily, moving his feet faster and faster beneath him but not gaining any ground. Ellone continued to get farther away from him until she was no longer visible. With a heart-wrenching breath, Squall stopped.

"Ellone! Come back!" Squall yelled out, his voice echoing in the emptiness surrounding him. No response came and Squall crumpled down, shutting his eyes and this time embracing the darkness that came.

"Sweetie?"

_Not another voice. _Squall blinked back the darkness, but his vision still a bit fuzzy. As he finally regained most of his sight, Rinoa was there to greet him.

"Oh, thank god!" Rinoa smiled warmly as she leaned over and hugged Squall, who was flattened out on the path where he had first seen the girl. "You scared me!"

Squall rubbed his neck with his hand as he pushed himself up into a sitting position on the ground. Rinoa along with Selphie, Quistis, and Irvine were crouching around him.

"Hey everyone," Squall smiled weakly. "Nice of you all to come out here and join me."

Selphie, sitting on the ground to Squall's left, placed her hands on his shoulder and pushed him gently but also firmly back down so he lay on the dirt path once again. "You should rest, Squall. No more work for you!"

Squall, who was just about to protest, suddenly gasped out in pain.

"Sorry," Quistis apologized meekly from Squall's feet. "I think you may have torn something in your bad leg… it doesn't look too good at all."

"It's…," Squall winced as Quistis poked his leg his she examined it more closely, "…..nothing….."

"Squall," Rinoa sighed, "You and I both know that Selphie's right. You've been under a lot of pressure lately and been pushing yourself to the limit. I think you've reached your breaking point and that's what this is about. You fainted from lack of sleep and nourishment. Your leg has been strained and isn't healing properly. Please, Squall, talk to me. I'm just so worried about you."

Squall reached up and stroked Rinoa's cheek affectionately. "I can't help it… everything is happening all at once and I feel as though I have no power to do anything about it."

"Squall, we all feel the same," Irvine stepped in. "You just gotta go with it and trust in the people around you, leanin' on them for support and peace of mind. Hell, if it wasn't for every one of you I'd be deemed a pathetic, depressed looney."

"Who told you that you weren't?" Quistis and Selphie questioned at the same time and then bursted out in laughter.

Rinoa smiled at Irvine in gratitude and then turned to Squall. "He's right. Stop trying to do and be everything. It's going to all work out. Give it time."

Squall nodded and smiled, but underneath he was not so sure. What if they did not have the time they need? What if his vision of Ellone telling him he was going to be late had real meaning? Squall closed his eyes and remembered the girl in the fields as the few words she had said to him repeated over and over again in his head…..

# …..You're going to be too late……

Zell's breathing quickened and his heart raced as sweat slowly streaked down his forehead. He stopped his hammering only to wipe the perspiration from his eyes, but then continued with the grueling work. The rhythm of the chipping away of rock pulsed through Zell's body. His palms stuck to the wood handle of the tool with cement formed for blisters and blood. At first, the pain had seemed unbearable, but after a while, he was numb to any feeling involved with his hands at all. With this numbness, Zell's mind began to wander aimlessly and his hands worked endlessly. As he drifted in a daze from one thought to another, a vision of Squall's look of disappointment and anger in him popped into his head. Zell remember all the times his best friend had come through for him no matter what the circumstances. Even if he lost his hand, Zell vowed as he glanced at his slightly purple and torn fingers, that he would not stop until Ellone was safe and his friendship with his best friend was mended. 

This new motivation pushed Zell to work harder and faster. Little by little he was able to crawl deeper into the tunnel, previously being dug by the _Titan_ before its untimely breakdown. The three-hour batteries that had fueled Zell's flashlight located on the top of his helmet had already died out, leaving him in total darkness to work. Although Zell could have turned back and recharge or even radioed Jay, he just didn't have it in him to face Squall again without Elle by his side. As he lay on his stomach, chiseling the wall, Zell smiled faintly as he wished that the dim yellow glow of artificial light was once again available to him when at first all it did was hurt his eyes. 

_Just a little longer…It'll all be over soon…_Zell thought to himself listlessly but even then he was not sure he could hear.

After all, the machine Jaimen was running, _Mertinan_, was so loud that its vibrations and echoes shook the entire tunnel in which Zell was crouched. The constant banging and clinking made Zell's ears ring so badly, a bit of blood was slowly oozing out of the left one.

Bruised and broken, Zell mindlessly ripped one hand from the handle and braced it against the wall in front of him, taking a big swing. He slipped. It all happened so fast that it seemed as if nothing happened at all. The cold steel tip of the tool was embedded in his hand and Zell could not feel a thing. He stared as the darkest red, the purest red, he had ever seen spurted out of his body and stained the ground it fell upon. 

Zell pulled the tool out of his hand and looked at the wound as if it were someone else's. A wave of sorrow and anger swept over him all at once and it made him feel as if he were trapped and needed to break free. Why couldn't he feel? Why did this have to happen to Ellone? What would Squall say if he failed? How could he ever face his friends again? So many questions raced through his mind he felt as if he was going to explode.

In that split second, Zell picked up the tool and slammed it against the hard rock wall. He repeated this a few more times, each getting a bit more aggressive and forceful as he released all of his hostility, sadness, and worry.

_Smash it, smash it, smash it, smash it_….. 

Then, it happened. Zell struck out and fell forward with the tool as if nothing was there to stop him because there wasn't. Not anymore. Zell laid a strewn on the ground with an array of dirt, pebbles, and rocks underneath and around him. He had broken through to the other side. A fire blazed in the middle of the small cavern, naturally formed during the collapsing of the ceiling. Against the opposite wall, both Seifer and Ellone sat huddled together. Zell almost choked at the sight before him. He grabbed at his waist blindly, too stunned to look away, until he found the remote Jay had given him. He stumbled to press the button, but after he did, all the noise stopped. The _Mertinan _was halted in its tracks and the ringing in Zell's ears stopped.

"Oh god," Zell exclaimed, kneeling on the floor. His voice was harsh and strained but loud.

Seifer and Ellone both turned abruptly and stared open-mouthed at their unexpected visitor.

"You two, you, you and him," Zell stuttered as he pushed himself up off the ground, "…kissing? Oh god almighty…."

## 


	17. So They Thought

Chapter 16: So They Thought

** **

"Oh yeah, that's right!!!" Jay bounded out of the cave hardly able to control his excitement. "Hey! Where is everyone?!"

"Jay? Is that you?" Quistis asked as she walked down the path towards him. "What's all that screaming about?"

Jay grinned widely, "He's in, he did it, Quistis, he did it!"

Quistis smiled and shook her head, "What are you rambling on about? Who did what?"

"Zell's in the cavern with Ellone and Seifer!" Jay bursted out, grabbing Quistis's hands and swinging her around happily. "They're alive, we saved them!"

"I can't believe it!" Quistis laughed. "Come on, hurry! Let's go tell the others!!"

She quickly sped around on her heels, pulling Jaimen along with her, and jetted back down the path from which she had just come. They both ran headlong into the forest, but their breath didn't falter once. After all, this was the news they had been hoping against hope for. Nothing else mattered. 

"Quisty?" Selphie jumped up from her seat on the beach, but before she could say even one more word, she was being spun around in bouncing circles. "He-eyyy! Wha-a-at are w-eeee do-o-innng?"

"Ellone and Seifer are alive!" Jay told her happily while the three of them had formed a circle and jumped merrily around together.

"Yippee!" Selphie yelped out joyfully.

Irvine and Squall, on hearing all the commotion, ran towards the trio from the northern shoreline. They both stopped in befuddlement as they watched what looked to be Quistis, Jaimen, and Selphie playing ring-around-the-rosy.

Squall cleared his throat, "What's happened?"

At Squall's serious tone, Jay dropped Selphie's and Quistis's hands and spread his arms wide, hugging his cousin-in-law. "Zell's in the cavern as we speak talking to Ellone and Seifer."

Squall almost choked, "What?"

Selphie giggled, "He said, Ellone's with Zell and they're both safe!"

"Well, how do you like that? All that worryin' and for nothin'?" Irvine exclaimed as he joined in the celebration, hugging both Quistis and Selphie at the same time.

Squall shook his head in disbelief, "Thank you, Jaimen."

Jay smiled, "It wasn't me. This was all Zell, man. He's the one you ought to be praising!"

Squall nodded and smiled weakly. _I know, and as soon as I see you again Zell, I'll make it up to you. I promise… I'll make it up to you._

"This is a flower, ya know?" Raijin held the yellow blossom that had a peculiar blue and green dotted pattern on it out to the girl.

"Good, Raijin. That's an Aphrodottie Hellio plant, just what we were looking for!" Helen reached over and carefully took the plant into her own hands to examine it more closely. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Raijin scratched his head and looked at the flower he had just found. "Looks kinda dirty and it smells funny, too, ya know?"

Helen smiled as she placed the delicate object in her research box, "I guess your right. Anyway, I think we had better get back now, but first let's drop off my bag at the SeeD airship. Then we can go check up on how Zell's digging is going."

"Okay," Raijin readily agreed.

The last few hours Raijin had volunteered to help Helen collect samples so that she could write a report about Naoki Island when she got back to Balamb Garden for Headmaster Squall. He had walked from one end of the island to the other, and going to the airship was no trouble at all after that. The time passed quickly and it seemed they had gone no more than a few feet before arriving at the plane.

"Ms. Martinez, Raijin, nice to see you both." Krupt Quill addressed them as he walked off the loading ramp. "Have you decided to join us, Raijin, or is this a social meeting?"

"Advisor Quill," Helen glanced quickly at Raijin in confusion. "Join you for what exactly?"

"Raijin hasn't said anything?" Quill smiled, "We're leaving. Well, at least my construction crew and associates are."

Helen's jaw dropped in astonishment at this sudden news. "You're leaving, now?"

A wide smile spread across the lead construction advisor's face. "That's right, now, or as soon as the pilot gets here."

"But, but…" Helen stuttered, still recovering from shock. 

"What else is there to say, Ms. Martinez?" Krupt Quill shrugged. "Young Jaimen Heartilly has got everything under control. While my crew and myself were needed in the beginning, young Heartilly has taken a step upward with his machines. There's no need for us to be here, especially after being proven useless and unwanted by everyone including Balamb's new Headmaster."

"Useless and unwanted?" Helen echoed with disbelief. "Who said that?"

Krupt shook his head as he looked from Raijin to Helen. "My men are engineers, construction workers, and most of all people. Jaimen's machines took our estimations and went beyond our limitations, leaving us with nothing to do here. When they broke, do you think any of us wanted to come in and dig? Our pride is too strong… Cid is a good friend of mine so I asked him for permission to abort and he agreed."

"What about Seifer an' Ellone?" Raijin asked sincerely.

"Where have you two been?!" Krupt Quill laughed in amazement. 

"Raijin! Helen!" Selphie yelled as she came running towards them with her arms flaring in the air.

Helen turned and stood peering at Selphie with Krupt Quill and Raijin at her side. 

"Selphie runs fast, ya know." Raijin stated casually.

At that exact moment, Selphie made a clumsy nose dive into the sand as the ground beneath her feet literally gave way. "Owww, oww, ow!"

"Oh, Selphie!" Helen exclaimed as she and the others came dashing over to their friend's aid. "Are you all right?"

Selphie rubbed her cheek, reddened and embedded with sand from the fall, and accepted Raijin's hand in order to pull herself to her feet. "…I guess….but what happened?"

Krupt Quill sighed, "You just tripped when you stepped in that partially filled in hole."

"A hole?" Helen questioned while helping Selphie wipe the sand off of her.

"Yes, and I apologize Ms. Tilmitt," Quill stated with a touch of guilt. "You see, my men were digging holes as a sort of "best hole" contest and I guess they got lazy and didn't fill this one in all the way."

Selphie smiled, "That's okay. I should be more careful anyway."

Raijin frowned, "But I thought Irvine said you were accident prone no matter what you do, ya know?"

Instantly, Helen spoke up. "Raijin, would you please take my bag inside and put it in the freezer so that the flowers don't dry out."

"No, Raijin." Selphie stopped him. "I've got news for you and Helen. Big news, too!! Well… Zell dug through to the other side and is with Seifer and Ellone, who are fine!! Isn't that great!!"

Helen smiled, "That's the best thing I've heard yet."

"Seifer's alright?" Raijin asked in disbelief. "You're sure?"

"Yup!" Selphie flashed them a grin. "But don't take my word for it, they'll be out any minute so come see for yourselves!"

With that Raijin hustled down toward the path, Helen lingering behind with Selphie and Krupt Quill.

"..accident prone…" Selphie mumbled as she shook her head. "Well, you comin' Helen?"

"I think we're done, Ms. Martinez," Krupt Quill smiled warmly. "See you back at the Garden."

Helen nodded as she turned and started back with Selphie at her side. "They're all really alright, aren't they?"

Selphie hesitated. "I don't really know…..Jay just said that Zell made it through and he was with Ellone and Seifer… I've been running around, telling Rinoa, and you guys so I haven't really been to the cave yet…"

Helen bit her bottom lip. "Let's hurry, okay?"

"Sure," Selphie agreed, feeling the same sense of urgency that her friend was to get to the cave as quickly as possible.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

# 


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

** **

Seifer sulked unhappily in the corner, leaning against the cold rock wall as he glared jealously at Ellone hovering over the poor, injured Zell. Shuffling his feet on the ground, Seifer inched his way towards the two with his arms folded across his chest and a permanent scowl etched onto his face.

"Seifer, can you get me the first aid kit, please?" Ellone called behind her shoulder before giving him a warm smile, which melted his frown away in less than a split second. "It's right over by that big rock."

With a sigh, Seifer obediently retrieved the kit and handed it to Ellone gently, making sure to avoid eye contact with Zell who was eying him with a sort of loathing suspicion as if Seifer were about to do something twisted…. not that the thought hadn't crossed his mind….

"Oh no…" Ellone mumbled, interrupting Seifer's train of thought. "I was hoping there was enough bandage left to wrap up at least that nasty gash, but….."

_Hey, maybe the maggot will lose his hand._ Seifer smiled to himself but quickly hid his amusement as Zell suddenly gasped out in a spasm of pain.

"Are you alright, Zell?" Ellone placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. 

Zell coughed and took Ellone's hand in his own. "I'm….fine."

Seifer examined his foe for the very first time since his unexpected arrival. A dribble of blood was running down Zell's neck from his mouth, his hands were bleeding profusively, and bruises littered his body from head to toe. Obviously, he had risked a lot to free them, or at least to free Ellone. Maybe, Zell wasn't really all that bad….

"I know," Seifer stated strongly as he scooped up his favorite gray overcoat from the floor. Ellone looked on in utter shock as Seifer grinned at her before ripping one of the sleeves from his beloved coat. Continuing on, Seifer proceeded to shred his coat into strips that he let fall to the ground until a collection of gray material surrounded his feet.

"I knew he was unstable, but I think this is it…." Zell mumbled under his breath. "He's gone completely insane."

"Seifer?" Ellone asked curiously as she picked herself up from the ground and began to walk slowly towards him. "What are you doing exactly?"

Seifer sighed at Ellone's questioning and dropped the remaining half of his much-loved coat to the floor. Reaching down, Seifer captured a hand full of the shreds, which he held out before him proudly to show Ellone. "They're just right."

Ellone wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion but didn't resist as Seifer, holding the strips in his left hand, took her hand in his right and lead her back to Zell's side.

Seifer casually knelt down and fingered one of the strips in his hand. "Hold out your hand."

Zell frowned and shook his head furiously, "Get the hell away from me."

With one quick sweeping motion, Seifer elbowed Zell in the stomach, causing the already injured SeeD to cry out in pain and Ellone, standing patiently over Seifer's shoulder to gasp out in horror. Fortunately, in the few seconds in which his action was being registered with both parties, his work had been completed. Seifer had quickly and effectively bandaged Zell's largest hand wound with the pieces of his overcoat in order to stop at least some of the bleeding.

"You son of a bitch," Zell muttered as he looked at his newly doctored hand. "Why the hell did you hit me if all you wanted to do is fix up my hand?"

Seifer grinned and leaned down closer to Zell, speaking in a light whisper, "Helping you was not the only thing I wanted to do so I compromised and did a little of everything."

With that said, Seifer patted his foe on the shoulder with a stifled laugh and stood up. Turning, he faced Ellone with a playful smile. "Any friend of yours I have to respect…as long as they don't bother me too much."

Ellone shook her head and leaned forward to kiss Seifer on the cheek."Just as long as you remember to be nice…."

"Yuck, man that's gross," Zell's voice rang out into the small cavern, "Okay, Seifer, thanks, but please…. no more kissing…."

Seifer raised his eyebrows mischievously, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you out."

"Hey, what the…no! Get away! Ellone, help!!!" Zell yelled as Seifer grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up off the ground, squeezing Zell in a bone-crushing hug. "Owww, this is so not cool.

"I feel like a mummy…" Zell grumbled unhappily as he reluctantly searched through his work pack for the transmitter. 

"Yeah, and that's what you look like too," Seifer replied mockingly, "so quit your whining and find the thingy.."

Ellone gave Seifer a warning look. "What he means is that we know you're hurt and don't feel especially well, but that's just another reason to radio Jay back now like we promised we would. After all, you just gave him a brief message before saying Seifer and I were all right and telling him to go spread the good news. We don't want them thinking something's happened to the three of us."

"Sure." Zell responded sarcastically. "Now that you mention it, Seifer did kinda say something like that…"

"Exactly." Seifer agreed with a wide grin stretching across his face.

"Anyways," Zell rolled his eyes is disgust, "here it is."

"What a piece of crap!!" Seifer exclaimed as he quickly swiped the item right out from Zell's intensely wrapped hands which had begun to resemble mittens.

"Give that back," Zell demanded firmly. "You don't even know how to work it."

Ellone sighed wearily. "Come on you two, please?"

Seifer looked at her with a faint, but genuine, smile. "Don't worry, everything's fine. Zell's become mummified so I can radio Jaimen. After all, I had to work these things all the time when I was training to be a SeeD."

"Thank you," Ellone smiled warmly at him. "But remember to be nice…"

Ellone shook her head as she watched Seifer happily hook up the little radio transmitter, not even hearing her warning. He was fixated on setting up the speakers so that all three of them would be able to listen while he was in control of the head microphone. 

Zell looked pleadingly at Ellone, "You're going to let him radio Jay? Squall's going to be so mad…."

"Shhh," Seifer smiled deviously, "I'm going to try it now."

Ellone stifled a laugh as Zell shook his head in disbelief. 

"Ahem," Seifer cleared his throat. "Hello this is Seifer Almasy. Jaimen, can you hear me?"

The three stared at the speakers but not a crackle of static vibrated from them.

"I said, can anyone hear me?" Seifer spoke a little louder into the microphone. "Hello?"

**_"…Zell?……that you……llone?"_**Jay's voice wavered as it boomed out from the speakers.

"Set your radio on level 5," Seifer responded. "Level 5."

**_"Hello? Can you here me Zell?"_**A new voice questioned from over the radio.

"Oh god…" Zell muttered while Ellone bit her lower lip.

Seifer hesitated. It was, of course, Squall. "…Hey Squall, it's Seifer."

**_"What the hell are you doing with the radio? Let me talk to Ellone…if she's hurt Seifer, I'll…."_** Suddenly, Squall's voice stopped and a series of rustling noises could be heard from over the speakers.

**_"He-llo? Mr. Almasy, are you there?" _**Seifer's heart leaped for joy as a new person began to talk from over the transmitter. Anyone was better than Squall.

"I'm here." Seifer stated casually. "Who's this."

"I don't really know you…but my name's Helen. I was wondering, Mr. Almasy, if you could tell us if everyone's all right…especially…."

**_ _**

"Ellone?" Seifer finished her statement. "Well, Zell's hands are pretty banged up from all the digging and my wounds from the trip out here are pretty much okay. Ellone on the other hand…… doesn't have a scratch on her. She's a real survivor so tell Squall to quit worrying and we'll be out in less than fifteen minutes if we can squirm our way through the tunnel. All we need you to do is have some cures ready for……….."

Seifer's mouth hung opened in shock as he looked at Ellone, who was sitting next to Zell leaned up against the rock wall. Dropping the head set, Seifer stood up slowly and began to walk towards the two.

"What are you doing?" Zell inquired in pure befuddlement. 

"Nobody panic….don't move…." Seifer's voice wavered slightly although he tried to keep it steady.

Zell and Ellone both exchanged confused glances as unanswered calls from Helen rang out from the speakers. Ellone realized that Seifer's wide eyes and quickened breath was somehow related to her….

"What's wrong?" Elone whispered as Seifer slowly crouched in front of her.

Zell, who was watching Seifer carefully, noticed that he wasn't looking at Ellone's face but rather her neck… And then he saw it! 

"Ughhhh!" Zell yelled as he leaped to his feet, grabbing Ellone's hand and dragging her up along with him. "Get it away!! Get it off!!"

"Holy shit…" Seifer exclaimed in complete horror as Zell whipped Ellone around the room in a crazed fit of hysterics. "STOP! Zell, CALM down!!"

When Seifer's yells didn't help, he reached out and grabbed Zell by the hair. "Quit it."

Turning to Ellone, Seifer sighed. The hideous red and blue spotted spider was no longer perched on her neck. Seifer had planned to gently pick the bug from her skin, avoiding any biting and panic, but maybe Zell's idiotic method was better or at least faster….

"Oh shit," Seifer's face contorted in frustration and worry as Ellone's eyes closed and she fell limply to the ground. "Elle, can you hear me? Say something…. Don't do this! Wake up! Come on, damn it!"

Zell stood watching as Seifer examined Ellone's bleeding neck. Three pairs of bit marks lined her neck, slowly dripping pure red blood onto the piece of cloth Seifer pressed up against them. 

"She's unconscious.." Seifer's voice cracked. "It was probably poisonous, she needs medical treatment."

Zell paced the floor, the color drained from his face, "Let's get her out of here. We'll just carry her between us as we crawl."

Seifer looked at the motionless girl who lay before him. Reaching down to gently push away the loose strands of hair from her face, he felt the fever that had quickly descended upon her. If the poison was working this fast…..they didn't have much time….

With a one track mind Seifer swiped the head set microphone from the floor. "Helen, we're coming out."

**_"Wait, Mr. Almasy, what happened? What was all that yelling?"_** Helen questioned breathlessly before he could leave.

"Do me a favor," Seifer replied hopefully, "Try and find out how to make an antidote for the bite of a red and blue spotted spider that lives on this island. Ellone just got bitten and we're bringing her to you as fast as we can."

With that Seifer flung the head set to the ground and hurried over to Ellone, where Zell was wrapping her neck with some left over pieces of the gray overcoat. 

"She's ready now," Zell stated when he finished securing the bandage. "But if it wasn't for me, she'd be able to walk out of here unaided…."

"Shut up," Seifer responded furiously, "It's not your fault and she's going to be fine."

Seifer scooped the seemingly lifeless body up in to his arms and carried her over to the tunnel. "Zell, you go first in case any fallen debris gets in the way and I'll crawl behind you with Elle on my back."

Zell, in no shape to argue, nodded obediently before kneeing down and beginning to crawl through his recently dug tunnel. In turn, Seifer kissed Ellone gently on the forehead and slung her onto his back. Then, he followed Zell into the darkness with the fire still blazing behind him in the little cavern.

"This isn't so bad.." Seifer whispered to the unconscious Ellone as he crawled on his stomach through the tunnel. "Hang on a little bit longer and I won't call Zell a Chicken wuss ever again."

"What'd you say!?" Zell yelled down the tunnel at the faint mumbling sound. "Is Ellone awake?"

"No! Keep going!" Seifer called back. 

He absolutely hated crawling behind Zell. Dust and rocks came flying back into his face with every move of Zell's clumsy feet, and his stomach was scrapped raw. Ellone's light breathe on his neck was the only reason that his pace didn't waver. She needed him…..and he needed her. For the first time, he cared what someone thought of him, or what they expected. He wanted Ellone around…..

"Hey Elle?" Seifer whispered as he crawled a few more inches. "I…..I love you very much so you got to make it, okay?"

Seifer closed his eyes as more dirt flew into his face. "Damn it!……..you know what? I'm going to get that idiot…."

With that, Seifer pushed himself even harder, trying to catch up with Zell. He was planning to just yank his feet extremely hard, but suddenly everything turned a bright yellowish white and he was being dragged across the ground as the weight previously held from Ellone was lifted from his back. Everything seemed as if it was resolved and Seifer allowed himself to be absorbed it that fact, drifting off into darkness.

"…Seifer…?"

"Hmmmmm?" Seifer mumbled as he blinked opened his sleepy eyes. "Where…?"

"Shhh," Ellone leaned over, gazing into his eyes. "Just be glad we're both alright." 

"Yeah, thank god for that or you'd be dead anyways." Selphie spoke up as she popped her head in side the door. "So how ya doin' Seifer?"

Seifer pushed himself up into the sitting position and began to examine his surroundings. He was obviously in the hospital wing at Balamb Garden where Ellone sat miraculously beside his bed and Selphie who had just arrived pulled up a chair on the other side. 

"I'm fine, but Ellone I thought…" Seifer began in befuddlement.

"Helen did some research on Naoki Island earlier on the other day so she just mixed up an antidote and I was fine." Ellone took Seifer's hand in her own and smiled warmly at him. 

"I'm fine too." Zell stated as he walked into the room with Quistis and Irvine right behind him. "Thanks to these two, that is. THEY were at least smart enough to bring cure magic along with them on the trip…."

"Hey, you can leave if you don't want to be here," Seifer scoffed playfully.

"Well," Quistis piped in, "I just wanted to tell you thank you for getting Ellone out of there…. And fainting. After all, with YOU unconscious there was no one for Squall to yell at and he listened to Zell say how helpful you were."

Seifer laughed, "I'm sure he loved hearing that!!"

"Yeah, right." Squall's voice boomed confidently from the doorway. "Seifer, I see you're awake. We need to talk, now."

Quistis and Zell exchanged looks and fled hurridly out of the room closely followed by Irvine along with Selphie.

Ellone stood, but did not follow her friends out of the room so Squall could talk with Seifer privately. "It wasn't Seifer's fault."

Squall's eyes flashed, "In part it was, and I've already spoken to Zell so it's only fair that I talk to Seifer now."

"Squall, please." Ellone pleaded softly. "You know how I feel…."

"Well, I do, but I don't know what Seifer feels, if he does at all…" Squall stated coldly.

As Seifer, not at all positive of what was going on, searched for some distraction to pry Squall's attention from himself and Ellone, the door flew opened and Rinoa followed by Raijin paraded into the small hospital room.

"Seifer!!" Raijin jumped up and down happily. "You're alrigh', ya know!"

Rinoa laughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but Raijin and I just wanted to tell you get well before Squall makes you turn evil by putting you down and insulting you endlessly…..oh, hi honey!"

Rinoa swallowed her words as she realized her husband was already in the room. "Squall!! When did you get here? It was nice of you to come and see Seifer!"

Seifer sighed. He knew that Squall was just going to be completely pissed now and from what he could piece together, Squall probably knew that he had fallen in love with Ellone and she returned the affection. 

"..Maybe?…" Seifer muttered under his breath before clearing his throat and bring all eyes back to himself. "Thanks for coming Rinoa, but you really shouldn't have. After all, you are _pregnant_ and need your rest."

Squall coughed in shock, choking on the air he breathed, and Seifer knew Rinoa had not spilled her secret yet.

"Rinoa, you're not pregnant, right?" Squall questioned in disbelief, completely forgetting everything and one around him.

"Yeah, I am….we're going to have a baby." Rinoa smiled and Squall hesitated at first but then reached over and kissed her passionately on the mouth.

"Wow!" Raijin exclaimed, turning from the two who continued to kiss. "Seifer, can you read the future? Oh, oh!! Tell me my future, ya know!!"

Seifer sighed, "Well if you don't get out of here quick, someone's gonna kick your ass."

# 

** **

** **


End file.
